Lenin for Beginners

Whilst many may claim that this book is a celebration of the machine that allowed Stalin to instigate genocide upon Russia, it is the underlying satire and wit that guide's the reader through the basics of the Russian revolution and to more complex questions that pose themselves in the post-glasnost era. This is not a complete overview of Russia in the grips of socialism, but that was never the purpose. The book highlights the important aspects of the period and introduces the more multifaceted situations. A superb read and a good buy.

It is difficult to believe that a figure as complex as Vladimir Lenin could be successfully presented in a simple and humorous manner, but this book does exactly that. It is excellent not only for beginners seeking a quick overview of Lenin and the Russian Revolution, but also provides a refreshing antidote for experts who have grown weary of trying to plough through the biased and deadly dull works of hacks like Richard Pipes and Dmitri Volkogonov. You'll get a much more informative portrait of Lenin from this book's 175 short pages of cartoons mixed with facts than you would from Volkogonov's 500 page diatribe (_Lenin: A New Biography_).Is this book a case of "Schoolhouse Rock" meeting the Russian Revolution? Not exactly. It is more ideally suited for high-school students and young adults, but readers of all ages will enjoy the light-hearted format. It occasionally displays a slight bias in Lenin's favor, but this should be seen as a good thing when you consider that even the better biographies of Lenin accessible to American readers (Adam B. Ulam's _The Bolsheviks_, for example) all contain a much more decided bias against him. Considering that it is inexpensive and will only take a day or so to finish, I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in Lenin and the Russian Revolution. You'll get a few laughs from it, too.