false 199653 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172623653m/199653.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172623653s/199653.jpg Each biography seems tailored to a specific audience. Robert Payne, a prolific & catholic writer, has produced a Book-of-the-Month selection aimed at romantics. Stefan Possony, political studies director at Stanford's Hoover Institution, will appeal most obviously to believers in conspiratorial views of history, since his research comes from police & foreign office files, ranging from Japan to France, covering mostly Lenin's life as a fugitive conspirator. On balance, Louis Fischer's is the best of the three. Fischer has devoted much of his long lifetime to the study of Russia (The Soviets in World Affairs; Russia, America & the World). He soberly weighs those episodes the other two biographers sometimes accept as fact, offering the pros & cons of each argument. For example, there's a genuine riddle about Lenin's racial background. Payne insists "there was not a drop of Russian blood" in Lenin, claiming his ancestry was German, Swedish & Chuvash, & that it shaped his personality. Without citing any evidence, Possony argues that the "evidence indicates" Lenin's grandfather "was born a Jew." Fischer places the responsibility where it belongs, on the Soviet government. "The records were undoubtedly available in Russia's bulging archives, but the Bolsheviks saw fit to suppress them. This feeds the suspicion that there is something to conceal."
What emerges most strikingly from all three biographies is the awesome power of a singleminded man to change the course of history. If the Kaiser had refused to let Lenin cross wartime Germany & enter Russia, if Kerensky's government had succeeded in arresting & executing Lenin, would the Bolsheviks be merely a footnote to history? Not the least of the paradoxes is the fact that Communism, which teaches the inevitability of historical forces & the impotence individuals in swaying them, owes its conquest of Russia to the energy & confident thrust of Lenin alone.--Time (edited)]]> 199653 5 193147 2001 The Life of Lenin total:3|4:1|3:2| 3 10 7 1 78724 4.01 422 65 20359883 974210 199653 1842122304 9781842122303 1 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172623653m/199653.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172623653s/199653.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/199653.The_Life_of_Lenin 3.33 3 Each biography seems tailored to a specific audience. Robert Payne, a prolific & catholic writer, has produced a Book-of-the-Month selection aimed at romantics. Stefan Possony, political studies director at Stanford's Hoover Institution, will appeal most obviously to believers in conspiratorial views of history, since his research comes from police & foreign office files, ranging from Japan to France, covering mostly Lenin's life as a fugitive conspirator. On balance, Louis Fischer's is the best of the three. Fischer has devoted much of his long lifetime to the study of Russia (The Soviets in World Affairs; Russia, America & the World). He soberly weighs those episodes the other two biographers sometimes accept as fact, offering the pros & cons of each argument. For example, there's a genuine riddle about Lenin's racial background. Payne insists "there was not a drop of Russian blood" in Lenin, claiming his ancestry was German, Swedish & Chuvash, & that it shaped his personality. Without citing any evidence, Possony argues that the "evidence indicates" Lenin's grandfather "was born a Jew." Fischer places the responsibility where it belongs, on the Soviet government. "The records were undoubtedly available in Russia's bulging archives, but the Bolsheviks saw fit to suppress them. This feeds the suspicion that there is something to conceal."
What emerges most strikingly from all three biographies is the awesome power of a singleminded man to change the course of history. If the Kaiser had refused to let Lenin cross wartime Germany & enter Russia, if Kerensky's government had succeeded in arresting & executing Lenin, would the Bolsheviks be merely a footnote to history? Not the least of the paradoxes is the fact that Communism, which teaches the inevitability of historical forces & the impotence individuals in swaying them, owes its conquest of Russia to the energy & confident thrust of Lenin alone.--Time (edited)]]> 2001 4 0 false Wed Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 1969 Thu Apr 17 02:19:41 -0700 2008 Mon Aug 24 21:48:07 -0700 2009 2 more...]]> 76248416 2457786 199653 1842122304 9781842122303 1 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172623653m/199653.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172623653s/199653.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/199653.The_Life_of_Lenin 3.33 3 Each biography seems tailored to a specific audience. Robert Payne, a prolific & catholic writer, has produced a Book-of-the-Month selection aimed at romantics. Stefan Possony, political studies director at Stanford's Hoover Institution, will appeal most obviously to believers in conspiratorial views of history, since his research comes from police & foreign office files, ranging from Japan to France, covering mostly Lenin's life as a fugitive conspirator. On balance, Louis Fischer's is the best of the three. Fischer has devoted much of his long lifetime to the study of Russia (The Soviets in World Affairs; Russia, America & the World). He soberly weighs those episodes the other two biographers sometimes accept as fact, offering the pros & cons of each argument. For example, there's a genuine riddle about Lenin's racial background. Payne insists "there was not a drop of Russian blood" in Lenin, claiming his ancestry was German, Swedish & Chuvash, & that it shaped his personality. Without citing any evidence, Possony argues that the "evidence indicates" Lenin's grandfather "was born a Jew." Fischer places the responsibility where it belongs, on the Soviet government. "The records were undoubtedly available in Russia's bulging archives, but the Bolsheviks saw fit to suppress them. This feeds the suspicion that there is something to conceal."
What emerges most strikingly from all three biographies is the awesome power of a singleminded man to change the course of history. If the Kaiser had refused to let Lenin cross wartime Germany & enter Russia, if Kerensky's government had succeeded in arresting & executing Lenin, would the Bolsheviks be merely a footnote to history? Not the least of the paradoxes is the fact that Communism, which teaches the inevitability of historical forces & the impotence individuals in swaying them, owes its conquest of Russia to the energy & confident thrust of Lenin alone.--Time (edited)]]> 2001 0 0 false Fri Oct 30 16:00:46 -0700 2009 Fri Oct 30 16:00:46 -0700 2009 60213142 650890 199653 1842122304 9781842122303 1 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172623653m/199653.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172623653s/199653.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/199653.The_Life_of_Lenin 3.33 3 Each biography seems tailored to a specific audience. Robert Payne, a prolific & catholic writer, has produced a Book-of-the-Month selection aimed at romantics. Stefan Possony, political studies director at Stanford's Hoover Institution, will appeal most obviously to believers in conspiratorial views of history, since his research comes from police & foreign office files, ranging from Japan to France, covering mostly Lenin's life as a fugitive conspirator. On balance, Louis Fischer's is the best of the three. Fischer has devoted much of his long lifetime to the study of Russia (The Soviets in World Affairs; Russia, America & the World). He soberly weighs those episodes the other two biographers sometimes accept as fact, offering the pros & cons of each argument. For example, there's a genuine riddle about Lenin's racial background. Payne insists "there was not a drop of Russian blood" in Lenin, claiming his ancestry was German, Swedish & Chuvash, & that it shaped his personality. Without citing any evidence, Possony argues that the "evidence indicates" Lenin's grandfather "was born a Jew." Fischer places the responsibility where it belongs, on the Soviet government. "The records were undoubtedly available in Russia's bulging archives, but the Bolsheviks saw fit to suppress them. This feeds the suspicion that there is something to conceal."
What emerges most strikingly from all three biographies is the awesome power of a singleminded man to change the course of history. If the Kaiser had refused to let Lenin cross wartime Germany & enter Russia, if Kerensky's government had succeeded in arresting & executing Lenin, would the Bolsheviks be merely a footnote to history? Not the least of the paradoxes is the fact that Communism, which teaches the inevitability of historical forces & the impotence individuals in swaying them, owes its conquest of Russia to the energy & confident thrust of Lenin alone.--Time (edited)]]> 2001 0 0 false Thu Jun 18 14:40:34 -0700 2009 Thu Jun 18 14:40:37 -0700 2009 40884665 982876 199653 1842122304 9781842122303 1 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172623653m/199653.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172623653s/199653.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/199653.The_Life_of_Lenin 3.33 3 Each biography seems tailored to a specific audience. Robert Payne, a prolific & catholic writer, has produced a Book-of-the-Month selection aimed at romantics. Stefan Possony, political studies director at Stanford's Hoover Institution, will appeal most obviously to believers in conspiratorial views of history, since his research comes from police & foreign office files, ranging from Japan to France, covering mostly Lenin's life as a fugitive conspirator. On balance, Louis Fischer's is the best of the three. Fischer has devoted much of his long lifetime to the study of Russia (The Soviets in World Affairs; Russia, America & the World). He soberly weighs those episodes the other two biographers sometimes accept as fact, offering the pros & cons of each argument. For example, there's a genuine riddle about Lenin's racial background. Payne insists "there was not a drop of Russian blood" in Lenin, claiming his ancestry was German, Swedish & Chuvash, & that it shaped his personality. Without citing any evidence, Possony argues that the "evidence indicates" Lenin's grandfather "was born a Jew." Fischer places the responsibility where it belongs, on the Soviet government. "The records were undoubtedly available in Russia's bulging archives, but the Bolsheviks saw fit to suppress them. This feeds the suspicion that there is something to conceal."
What emerges most strikingly from all three biographies is the awesome power of a singleminded man to change the course of history. If the Kaiser had refused to let Lenin cross wartime Germany & enter Russia, if Kerensky's government had succeeded in arresting & executing Lenin, would the Bolsheviks be merely a footnote to history? Not the least of the paradoxes is the fact that Communism, which teaches the inevitability of historical forces & the impotence individuals in swaying them, owes its conquest of Russia to the energy & confident thrust of Lenin alone.--Time (edited)]]> 2001 0 0 false Thu Dec 25 11:40:09 -0800 2008 Thu Dec 25 11:40:15 -0800 2008 20510747 318004 199653 1842122304 9781842122303 1 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172623653m/199653.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172623653s/199653.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/199653.The_Life_of_Lenin 3.33 3 Each biography seems tailored to a specific audience. Robert Payne, a prolific & catholic writer, has produced a Book-of-the-Month selection aimed at romantics. Stefan Possony, political studies director at Stanford's Hoover Institution, will appeal most obviously to believers in conspiratorial views of history, since his research comes from police & foreign office files, ranging from Japan to France, covering mostly Lenin's life as a fugitive conspirator. On balance, Louis Fischer's is the best of the three. Fischer has devoted much of his long lifetime to the study of Russia (The Soviets in World Affairs; Russia, America & the World). He soberly weighs those episodes the other two biographers sometimes accept as fact, offering the pros & cons of each argument. For example, there's a genuine riddle about Lenin's racial background. Payne insists "there was not a drop of Russian blood" in Lenin, claiming his ancestry was German, Swedish & Chuvash, & that it shaped his personality. Without citing any evidence, Possony argues that the "evidence indicates" Lenin's grandfather "was born a Jew." Fischer places the responsibility where it belongs, on the Soviet government. "The records were undoubtedly available in Russia's bulging archives, but the Bolsheviks saw fit to suppress them. This feeds the suspicion that there is something to conceal."
What emerges most strikingly from all three biographies is the awesome power of a singleminded man to change the course of history. If the Kaiser had refused to let Lenin cross wartime Germany & enter Russia, if Kerensky's government had succeeded in arresting & executing Lenin, would the Bolsheviks be merely a footnote to history? Not the least of the paradoxes is the fact that Communism, which teaches the inevitability of historical forces & the impotence individuals in swaying them, owes its conquest of Russia to the energy & confident thrust of Lenin alone.--Time (edited)]]> 2001 3 0 false Sat Apr 19 00:50:53 -0700 2008 Sat Apr 19 00:50:53 -0700 2008 14520939 336638 199653 1842122304 9781842122303 1 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172623653m/199653.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172623653s/199653.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/199653.The_Life_of_Lenin 3.33 3 Each biography seems tailored to a specific audience. Robert Payne, a prolific & catholic writer, has produced a Book-of-the-Month selection aimed at romantics. Stefan Possony, political studies director at Stanford's Hoover Institution, will appeal most obviously to believers in conspiratorial views of history, since his research comes from police & foreign office files, ranging from Japan to France, covering mostly Lenin's life as a fugitive conspirator. On balance, Louis Fischer's is the best of the three. Fischer has devoted much of his long lifetime to the study of Russia (The Soviets in World Affairs; Russia, America & the World). He soberly weighs those episodes the other two biographers sometimes accept as fact, offering the pros & cons of each argument. For example, there's a genuine riddle about Lenin's racial background. Payne insists "there was not a drop of Russian blood" in Lenin, claiming his ancestry was German, Swedish & Chuvash, & that it shaped his personality. Without citing any evidence, Possony argues that the "evidence indicates" Lenin's grandfather "was born a Jew." Fischer places the responsibility where it belongs, on the Soviet government. "The records were undoubtedly available in Russia's bulging archives, but the Bolsheviks saw fit to suppress them. This feeds the suspicion that there is something to conceal."
What emerges most strikingly from all three biographies is the awesome power of a singleminded man to change the course of history. If the Kaiser had refused to let Lenin cross wartime Germany & enter Russia, if Kerensky's government had succeeded in arresting & executing Lenin, would the Bolsheviks be merely a footnote to history? Not the least of the paradoxes is the fact that Communism, which teaches the inevitability of historical forces & the impotence individuals in swaying them, owes its conquest of Russia to the energy & confident thrust of Lenin alone.--Time (edited)]]> 2001 0 0 false Mon Feb 04 08:23:47 -0800 2008 Mon Feb 04 08:23:47 -0800 2008 11461646 712893 199653 1842122304 9781842122303 1 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172623653m/199653.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172623653s/199653.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/199653.The_Life_of_Lenin 3.33 3 Each biography seems tailored to a specific audience. Robert Payne, a prolific & catholic writer, has produced a Book-of-the-Month selection aimed at romantics. Stefan Possony, political studies director at Stanford's Hoover Institution, will appeal most obviously to believers in conspiratorial views of history, since his research comes from police & foreign office files, ranging from Japan to France, covering mostly Lenin's life as a fugitive conspirator. On balance, Louis Fischer's is the best of the three. Fischer has devoted much of his long lifetime to the study of Russia (The Soviets in World Affairs; Russia, America & the World). He soberly weighs those episodes the other two biographers sometimes accept as fact, offering the pros & cons of each argument. For example, there's a genuine riddle about Lenin's racial background. Payne insists "there was not a drop of Russian blood" in Lenin, claiming his ancestry was German, Swedish & Chuvash, & that it shaped his personality. Without citing any evidence, Possony argues that the "evidence indicates" Lenin's grandfather "was born a Jew." Fischer places the responsibility where it belongs, on the Soviet government. "The records were undoubtedly available in Russia's bulging archives, but the Bolsheviks saw fit to suppress them. This feeds the suspicion that there is something to conceal."
What emerges most strikingly from all three biographies is the awesome power of a singleminded man to change the course of history. If the Kaiser had refused to let Lenin cross wartime Germany & enter Russia, if Kerensky's government had succeeded in arresting & executing Lenin, would the Bolsheviks be merely a footnote to history? Not the least of the paradoxes is the fact that Communism, which teaches the inevitability of historical forces & the impotence individuals in swaying them, owes its conquest of Russia to the energy & confident thrust of Lenin alone.--Time (edited)]]> 2001 3 0 false Wed Jan 02 12:12:54 -0800 2008 Wed Jan 02 12:12:54 -0800 2008 8 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=199653