Title: The Napoleonic Wars: A Global History Author: Alexander Mikaberidze Genre: General History Publisher: Oxford University Press Release Date: 2020 Format: Hardcover Pages: 960 I bought this book because of my overall interest in the Napoleonic Wars and its very high rating on Amazon; it is billed as a history of the Napoleonic Wars with
Title: The Great Terror: A Reassessment 40th Anniversary Edition Author: Robert Conquest Genre: General History Publisher: Oxford University Press Release Date: 2007 Format: Hardcover Pages: 608 This is the classic account of Stalin's Great Terror, updated based on greater access to Soviet archives after the fall of the Soviet Union. Most of the book actually
Title: Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman Author: Robert K. Massie Genre: General History Publisher: Random House Release Date: 2011 Format: Kindle Pages: 656 This is a very readable book about, well, Catherine the Great. Generally the book reads like a novel, or rather like a soap opera, with all of Catherine's various romances.
Title: Trump/Russia: A Definitive History Author: Seth Hettena Genre: General History Publisher: Melville House Release Date: 2018 Format: Kindle Pages: 288 This is a good summary of the numerous contacts/relationships connecting Trump to Russia, dating all the way back to the 80s. Personally I find it very disturbing, and certainly ground for a thorough investigation.
Title: All the Kremlin's Men: Inside the Court of Vladimir Putin Author: Mikhail Zygar Genre: General History Publisher: PublicAffairs Release Date: 2016 Format: Kindle Pages: 396 This is excellent account of Russian political dynamics since 2000--readable and absolutely fascinating (for those interested in this kind of stuff). The author gives an excellent account, based on
Title: Russia in Flames: War, Revolution, Civil War, 1914 - 1921 Author: Laura Engelstein Genre: General History Publisher: Oxford University Press Release Date: 2017 Format: Kindle Pages: 851 This is a clearly written, fairly comprehensive, and--as far as I can tell--accurate account of the Russian revolution and civil war. The author does a very good
Title: Russia Under the Bolshevik Regime Author: Richard Pipes Genre: General History Publisher: Vintage Release Date: 2011 Format: Kindle Pages: 608 This author is an excellent writer that does a very good job of simplifying and explaining the very complex situation/conditions which arose at the Bolsheviks established their regime. I was mainly interested in the
Title: Natasha's Dance: A Cultural History of Russia Author: Orlando Figes Genre: General History Publisher: Metropolitan Books Release Date: 2014 Format: Kindle Pages: 784 I've been meaning to read this book since it came out a few years ago, but have been too intimidated--reading a book of this size about Russian culture is not for
Title: The Devils' Alliance: Hitler's Pact with Stalin, 1939-1941 Author: Roger Moorhouse Genre: General History Publisher: Basic Books Release Date: 2014 Format: Kindle Pages: 432 This is an excellent,well-written account of the lead up to, consequences of, and life under the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. The author includes many fascinating details and personal stories that I had
Title: Who Lost Russia? Author: Peter Conradi Genre: General History Publisher: Oneworld Publications Release Date: 2017 Format: Kindle Pages: 400 This is a good summary of the history of US-Russian relations over the last few decades, and a good reminder of how we ended up where we are today--the euphoria and hope of the early
Title: Napoleon's Wars: An International History Author: Charles Esdaile Genre: General History Publisher: Penguin Books Release Date: 2009 Format: Kindle Pages: 654 I wanted to leave a review of this rather good diplomatic history of the Napoleonic period. I thought that the book was well-written, informative, and probably worthwhile reading for anyone interested in this
Title: The End: The Defiance and Destruction of Hitler's Germany, 1944-1945 Author: Ian Kershaw Genre: General History Publisher: Penguin Books Release Date: 2011 Format: Kindle Pages: 596 After reading a few other books about the end of WWII in Europe, I was looking forward to this author's exploration of what made Germany and its people
Title: The Wages of Destruction: The Making and Breaking of the Nazi Economy Author: Adam Tooze Genre: General History Publisher: Adam Tooze Release Date: 2008 Format: Kindle Pages: 829 I can't contribute much to the 90 other reviews (as of the time of this review), but did want to add my five star rating for
Title: Secondhand Time: The Last of the Soviets Author: Svetlana Alexievich Publisher: Random House Release Date: 2016 Format: Kindle Pages: 498 I just finished this rather intense book and wanted to provide a review. If you are looking for a book about balalaikas and ballerinas, Tolstoy and troikas, this is not the book for you--this
Title: Grand Delusion: Stalin and the German Invasion of Russia Author: Gabriel Gorodetsky Genre: Diplomatic History Publisher: Yale University Press Release Date: 2001 Format: Paperback Pages: 384 This is an excellent, well-written, well-sourced history of 1940-1941, prior to the German invasion of Russia. I can't add much to the description of the book in other
Title: Nothing Is True and Everything Is Possible: The Surreal Heart of the New Russia Author: Peter Pomerantsev Genre: General History Publisher: PublicAffairs Release Date: 2014 Format: Kindle Pages: 258 As noted by other reviewers, the author is a very good story-teller and has included many entertaining and--to some extent--informative vignettes in this book. I
Title: Red Fortress: History and Illusion in the Kremlin Author: Catherine Merridale Genre: General History Publisher: Metropolitan Books Release Date: 2013 Format: Kindle Pages: 528 I bought this book after reading several glowing reviews. I live in Moscow very near the Kremlin, so expected to learn many interesting facts about the place. Unfortunately, in this
Title: Spies and Commissars: The Early Years of the Russian Revolution Author: Robert Service Genre: Diplomatic History Publisher: PublicAffairs Release Date: 2012 Format: Hardcover Pages: 480 While decent enough, this book should have been titled "Diplomats and Trade Ministers" rather than "Spies and Commissars", because that is the main topic of the book. In fact,
