Reviews for Ten Days That Shook the World

The average rating for Ten Days That Shook the World based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2008-07-22 00:00:00 David Klingenberger I just finished this one, after meaning to check it out since college. Sometimes you know a book is great even if you yourself have a hard time reading it. That was the case for me in the very well written and detailed personal account of the October Revolution in Russia, as experienced by American reporter and Communist sympathizer, Jack Reed. The excellent movie Reds is based in large part on the accounts in this book. (Warren Beauty producing, directing, writing, and starring as the author, Reed.) I love that film, and assumed I would love the book. I certainly admire the book, and can see why a movie was made of it; Reed's descriptions of moods, sights, sounds and smells, his overall description of environment is immpeccable. The reader feels as if they are right there with Reed as he surveys the war front, walks dark streets, and experiences the unspecified yet palpable unrest that was so pervasive in all parts of Russia during that historical time. I loved these parts of the book. But the book is just as much, if not more, Reed's account of the literally scores of factions, political parties, armies, navies, congresses, and commititees. Man alive, were there committees in revolutionary Russia! Hundreds! Everywhere! Even in the Army. There was even a Commitee of Commitees, and a Union of Unions. So horribly complex were the struggles of these inummerable political/governmental groups that one could very easily get lost trying to remember who was who, and who was against what, etc. There is a brief description at the front of the book for each of the parties, but flipping back and forth grew tedious, so I gave up. A reference card as one reads is required for most people not well versed already in Russian history of the early 20th century. While I am sure Reed breaks it down better than most, the chunks are still hard for a novice to swallow sometimes. He is also a victim of his meticulous collecting, whole pages sometimes being dedicated to verbatim accounts of speeches and articles and pamphlets set out all over Russia. Makes one's head spin. Yet even then, I admired the passion with which he wrote those part of the accounts. Not exactly as moving or intriguing as the mood pieces spread throughout the pages, Reed certainly leaves no stone unturned. Unfortunatley, one has to be a geologist to keep some of them straight. I will, in all liklihood, read the book again one day, when more of it has time to process. For though Reed himself confessed that he failed to be 100% objective, his first hand account of one of the most important social shifts in world history is invaluable to historians. And his prose, (and even some poetry) is a very rich feast for any wordsmith, such as myself. A book to be admired and remembered, even when confusing. Not for everyone, and sometimes, not for me. But when it did hit with me, I was quite glad to have finally, after about eight years, picked it up and read it.

Review # 2 was written on 2009-08-19 00:00:00 Jerry Mcintyre Due to the various political parties that John Reed speaks of in his impassioned account of the Russian Revolution, it becomes somewhat difficult to follow the flow of events and their importance. An understanding of the struggle at hand in this tumultuous period really only requires the knowledge of two warring factions; the "Reds" (Bolsheviks), and the "Whites" (anti-Bolsheviks). Basically the absolute monarchy of Tsar Nicholas II had come to an end due to severe social and political unrest on the behalf of a starving, angry country. In its place a Provisional Government was formed. This was intended to be temporary of course, until a new one arose. Long before all of this, Vladimir Lenin had been writing of a working-class revolution, one spearheaded by the privileged Russian intellectuals (basically radical Marxists) who would organize it. And the Provisional Government wasn't exactly any more sympathetic to the poor lower classes; it was in support of Russia's continued participation in World War I, and would not grant them the land that much of Lenin and Trotsky's Bolshevik ideology argued that they were entitled to. John Reed, a Portland born American journalist covered most of the chaotic events of the October Revolution, including the attack on the Winter Palace, where the counter-revolutionary Whites where defeated by the Bolsheviks. After which, Kerensky leader of the Whites, fled to Pskov. As journalism, Reed's account of the events of the Revolution weren't exactly objective. Of course, Reed had unabashed Socialist sympathies. He was opposed to the war, and very much excited about what this struggle meant, not just for Russia, but for the world. There are parts throughout the book in which he expresses the excitement about how the Russian Revolution would affect other countries, and would eventually bring about an international workers' revolution inspired by the ideology of Lenin's radical Marxism. Exactly what went wrong after all of this is another story, left open for endless debate. An extreme example of socialism in the vein of Lenin's Bolshevik ideology probably wasn't the most reasonable alternative to capitalism or absolute monarchy, but at the time of the Tsar's very necessary abdication, it could've been construed as an almost transcendent change. Unfortunately, a party that ran on such extreme ideology was bound to enforce draconian laws as severe and unreasonable as that of the Tsarist Monarchy or the Provisional Government. Introduce a boorish thinker such as Stalin into the mix some decades later, and you have an ideological nightmare. Reed's book is an incredible phenomenon though. Here was a man who was front and center for all of it. One who had actually stood and listened to the speeches of Lenin and Trotsky. He writes prose that, as frantic as it occasionally sounds, seems to leap off of the page. There is an incredible attention to detail, for what must have been an overwhelming experience to take in. Ten Days that Shook the World will forever remain a classic due to its exuberance and charm; it's a testament to its authors' bold dedication to spreading the news of one of Western Europe's most pivotal events.