my experience:

  • intro and prehistory: huh cool
  • february: this is the coolest thing I have ever read, revolution is possible :bloomer:
  • march-september: non-stop leftist infighting
  • october: this is the coolest thing I have ever read, revolution is possible :bloomer:
  • epilogue: and they did not live happily ever after :doomjak:

overall 7/10, took me way to long to get through the middle, especially like august/september

shoutout to @discontinuuity for the recommendation

  • ergot [comrade/them]
    ·
    4 years ago

    it's good! I don't read much history so I found it a bit dry at times, but a very thorough view of the times. @PermaculturalMarxist on the issues of the epilogue:

    found it really good until about the last chapter where he kind of just reiterates the Trot point-of-view that Stalin ruined everything and the USSR basically stopped being socialist immediately after winning.

    For an intro to the USSR, particularly the revolutionary period, you will want to read October by China Melville (although people do say he falls for propaganda narratives about how the USSR fares after the revolution, so you will want to read other sources for that info).