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Lenin: A Biography | 
 enlarge | Author: Robert Service
Publisher: Pan Books
Category: Book
List Price: £9.99
Buy New: £6.99
You Save: £3.00 (30%)
Rating:  12 reviews
Sales Rank: 79648
Media: Paperback
Pages: 592
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 7.6 x 5.1 x 1.6
ISBN: 0330491393
Dewey Decimal Number: 335
EAN: 9780330491396
ASIN: 0330491393
Publication Date: March 8, 2002
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Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours
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Amazon.co.uk Review
Few political reputations have collapsed quite as quickly as that of Lenin, the ideological guru of Russian Communism, the hero of the revolution of October 1917, and the first leader of the Soviet Union. Just as the Berlin Wall was pulled to the ground, so were thousands of statues of Lenin toppled across Eastern Europe and the new Russia in the early 1990s. But now that the dust has settled, and the Cold War is over, historians can be more objective about the life and achievements of Vladimir Ilich Ulyanov (Lenin was his adopted revolutionary name). Robert Service's book is the first major biography of Lenin for several decades and it benefits from the thaw that has opened up previously inaccessible material, particularly on Lenin's family and his medical history. Born into a wealthy family of landowners, lawyers and government officials, Lenin's revolutionary path was marked out when his elder brother was executed for his part in an assassination plot on the Tsar. From that point on, aided by his sisters, his wife and a loyal but argumentative band of Bolshevik followers, Lenin committed himself to the overthrow of the Tsarist regime, enduring exile, prison and ostracism in the process. This compelling and action-packed book brings Lenin and Leninism to life in a way that no previous account has managed to do. --Miles Taylor
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| Customer Reviews: Read 7 more reviews...
 a fascinating look into the mind of a infamous revolutionary April 18, 2002
13 out of 23 found this review helpful
this book is a well written and thoroughly fascinating look into the background and motivation that drove Vladimir Illich Ulyanov Lenin to seize power in post-tsarist russia. this book not only looks at the political life of this enigmatic figure but also delves into his personal life. the book was written with the help of newly released files on Lenin and it amounts to a convincing account of the life of not only Lenin the leader but Lenin the person.
By far the greatest work on Lenin ever published. Excellent. July 19, 2001
4 out of 8 found this review helpful
Service's biography of Lenin is a masterpiece. Utilising the most up-to-date material from the recently-opened Soviet archives, Service charts the life of one of the twentieth century's most contraversial figures. Yet his analysis reveals as much about Lenin the political theorist and revolutionary leader as it does about the personality behind the strategist. And this is what makes Service's biography so special. Free from political bias, well-written, a pleasure to read.
A Fine Example of the Biographer's Art May 30, 2003
6 out of 14 found this review helpful
This is one of the finest biographies I have ever read. Service provides a detailed and convincing analysis of Lenin's personality and how it drove him to become the leader of the Soviet revolution. He draws on material only made available since the KGB files were opened in the wake of the collapse of the Soviet government, and thus has been able to expel various myths and examples of spin that had grown around the image of old Vladimir Ilyich. The complexities of internecine fights and power struggles on the Russsian left, Lenin's masterfully Machiaevellian manipulations and the account of his long years in exile are particularly well drawn, and the resulting effect of Service's efforts is a telling exposition of how the forces of history and the individual will can become fatally intertwined. A must-read for all students of Russia and 20th century history.
Excellent book, impressively written July 26, 2008
J. de Jonge (Brussels, Belgium)
Definitely a must-have for anyone interested in Russian history. Well written, brilliantly researched, a classic.
Well written, but don't expect the full story of 1917 January 3, 2007
Mr. Paul J. Bradshaw (Midlands, UK)
6 out of 8 found this review helpful
A very well written book that successfully evokes the atmosphere of turn of the century Russia. Unusually for a biography, the youth of Lenin is actually quite interesting, and Service knows to quickly move on to keep the narrative moving. Occasionally, however, you wish for more details - the execution of his brother, for example, happens so suddenly it is almost shocking.
By the middle of the book you are yearning to get to the revolutionary events of 1917, but again once there, it would have been good to have more details about events 'on the ground', and if you want a book about the 1917 revolution, it may be better to buy something more specifically about that (the impression here is that Lenin capitalised on circumstances more than he was actually involved in them). That aside, the whole is a fascinating tale told well. Service is not afraid to give his own occasional opinion on matters, while there's some analysis of how the communist revolution affected politics elsewhere in Europe, particularly in the reactive rise of fascism.
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