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Communism: A History
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With astonishing authority and clarity, Richard Pipes has fused a lifetime’s scholarship into a single focused history of Communism, from its hopeful birth as a theory to its miserable death as a practice. At its heart, the book is a history of the Soviet Union, the most comprehensive reorganization of human society ever attempted by a nation-state. This is the story of ho
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Paperback, 192 pages
Published
August 5th 2003
by Modern Library
(first published April 28th 1994)
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Some interesting facts and points, particularly at the start, but then it just turns into a tirade about why capitalism is good and communism is wrong, by the end I was not just angry but flabbergasted, especially about his positive reference to the Pinochet coup in Chile and how they delat with the Allende regime, I'm surprised the author has any credibility in academic circles by the one sided nature of this treatise. Only worth reading as a way of understanding the blinkered viewpoint of the
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The proper indictment of a rotten ideology that enslaved and murdered millions of people, this book's concise expose and explanation of an idea in theory and practice is a definite must read.
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Richard Pipes sets out to answer whether the failure of Communism "was due to human error or to flaws inherent in its very nature." To resolve this question, Pipes traces the history of Communism from its conceit, through its regimes in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, and then to its repeated demise in those places. Then, in an excellent final chapter, Pipes annihilates both the practice and philosophy of Communism and gives a resounding answer to the book's original question.
Parting word goes ...more
Parting word goes ...more
This book definitely has some interesting research, but I found that the thesis was not well proven overall. Pipes has an obvious anticommunist bent, and he has a way of distorting or "cherry-picking" facts to fit his ideas. By the end of the book, I was so turned off by his arguments that I will probably never read another of his books.
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Generally, the book is a good overview of Communism history.
Pipes focused mainly on Russia's Lenin and Stalin time, a bit of Cuba, China, and Cambodia. However, he kept claiming how awful is communism in theory and practice and how great is capitalism, supporting his claim with the destruction of the Soviet Union instead of the destruction of capitalism, as Marx predicted. As well as, continuously mentioning the atrocities of communism without mentioning the atrocities of capitalism. Thus, If h ...more
Pipes focused mainly on Russia's Lenin and Stalin time, a bit of Cuba, China, and Cambodia. However, he kept claiming how awful is communism in theory and practice and how great is capitalism, supporting his claim with the destruction of the Soviet Union instead of the destruction of capitalism, as Marx predicted. As well as, continuously mentioning the atrocities of communism without mentioning the atrocities of capitalism. Thus, If h ...more
Primer on anti-communism
This right wing introduction to communism is not a balanced analysis. It relies on the authors view that humans are acquisitive by nature and the the socialist programs can not be carried out without coercion and conflict. None of socialism’s successes are mentioned. Millions were sacrificed for a system that is doomed for failure. Innovation is not possible. Human nature can not be adapted to create a better society. This is just bullshit!
This right wing introduction to communism is not a balanced analysis. It relies on the authors view that humans are acquisitive by nature and the the socialist programs can not be carried out without coercion and conflict. None of socialism’s successes are mentioned. Millions were sacrificed for a system that is doomed for failure. Innovation is not possible. Human nature can not be adapted to create a better society. This is just bullshit!
Dec 15, 2020
Horace Derwent
marked it as to-read
the pathway to the perdition of humanity was barged open by that masturbating philosopher
i sincerely think that the perishment of ussr was a great leap forward for human civilization...but there are now those cunting Chinese commie motherfuckers...
i sincerely think that the perishment of ussr was a great leap forward for human civilization...but there are now those cunting Chinese commie motherfuckers...
I loved this book. As a child of the cold war I grew up with Communism being shoved down our throats as the answer to everything, while the rest of us stupid people in the entire world saw the non-answer that it was. Even now Castro can't be praised enough. How much of a absolute failure does a idea have to be before it goes to the ash heap of history? I guess the entire Russian subcontinent, or Eastern Europe is not enough apparently.
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This concise 160 page book is quite simply the best book on the history of communism I have ever read. It is easy to read and explains the entire movement from Marx to 1991. To understand the 20th century this is a crucial topic to digest. Also I would like to mention that Pipes is really hard on Lenin. I used to hold Lenin to a higher standard than say a Stalin, but Pipes skillfully argues that Lenin laid all of the groundwork and was as ruthless as anyone. A great, great little book.
A Must Read before Black Book of Communism
A clear headed disillusioned look at the cancer called communism / marxism. Im also glad he didnt forget to mention the similarities of it with its sister ideologies fascism and nazism.
A clear headed disillusioned look at the cancer called communism / marxism. Im also glad he didnt forget to mention the similarities of it with its sister ideologies fascism and nazism.
Great book. I've always been so curious and have struggled to rap my mind around what Communism really meant, what life was/is like under "Communist" regimes, and how they came to power all over the world. This book answers a lot of questions I've had and fills in a lot of gaps in my understanding of it. Also, it is well written and easy to read. I'd enthusiastically recommend this book to anyone who is as curious on this subject as myself.
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Mar 19, 2016
Catherine Fitzpatrick
rated it
it was amazing
Shelves:
communist-terror-and-mass-crimes
A short book that you should give to every college student to counter all the Marxism-Leninism thrust on them.
This is AWFUL. For a far more balanced and significantly less ethnocentric view, read The Red Flag: Communism and the Making of the Modern World by David Priestland.
(No really. Pipes attacks the KGB but doesn't acknowledge the covert security services of any of the many other countries active in the Cold War. Also, there are numerous factual errors and misleading arguments in the Latin American section, especially concerning Nicaragua and Chile. And he repeatedly conflates examples separated by ...more
(No really. Pipes attacks the KGB but doesn't acknowledge the covert security services of any of the many other countries active in the Cold War. Also, there are numerous factual errors and misleading arguments in the Latin American section, especially concerning Nicaragua and Chile. And he repeatedly conflates examples separated by ...more
I wanted to read a book about communism after serving my mission in Hungary and seeing the aftermath. It solidified my belief in the wickedness of the communist system. This book covered Lenin and Stalin in Russia, as well as a little of Mao Ze Dang in China, and Fidel Castro in Cuba. The focus was on Russia and Lenin and Stalin.
An incredible little read! I found the part on Maoism most curious; especially western intellectuals particular fascination with such a willing murderer.
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gonna rip every page and wipe my ass with it
A very brief history of the USSR, the reception in the west, and brief mentionings of communism in the east. It summarizes the main criticisms of communism, and offers his explanation why the communist regimes of the past failed and the horrors it inflicted on people. His points are mostly well backed and he offers sources, except when he tries to argue against the overall philosophy of socialism and human nature. His arguments become weak in those respect. Obviously when you read the author's b
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An informative overview/review of one of the driving forces of the 20th Century that I realized I did not know about in nearly enough detail. Pipes lays out the rise and fall of the Big C, from idealism to oppression, and examines why it is a flawed concept at its core.
Here's a part I found particularly fitting for our current political climate: "Most...sympathizers were not oblivious to the odious aspects of Communist rule, but they rationalized them in various ways: by blaming extraneous caus ...more
Here's a part I found particularly fitting for our current political climate: "Most...sympathizers were not oblivious to the odious aspects of Communist rule, but they rationalized them in various ways: by blaming extraneous caus ...more
Great book. Perfect for the reader with little or no knowledge of communism. Offers wonderful context for the major events of the last 100 years.
Excellent, succinct work. Pipes presents a thorough summary of the philosophy and the practice of Communism, and finds it wanting.
Obviously communism failed, but Jesus Christ this book is biased.
A concise and accessible exposé of Communism and its practice, perversions, and revisionisms. Above all else, Pipes does well in revealing Communist parties not as adherents to Marxist canon but self-serving interests (much like all political groups). I've never understood just how the system spread globally, but the author easily explicates former Soviet preeminence and the functions of the Comintern. Perhaps some more time could have been spent detailing the West's interactions with Communist
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This book talked only little about the theory of communism and much more about the reality of what happened when different people tried to turn the world into a communist society in the 20th century. It's a good summary of what happened, but does not dive into the topic. Still it was a good (and fast) reading experience.
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Good quick read from one of America's foremost Russian historians. This book examines why Communism - in all it's earthly iterations - has been a dismal failure. Pipes explains why it is not the implementation but something inherent in the ideology which carries the seeds of its failure.
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a gratuitous contribution by a lying CIA thug. attempts to argue that the commie system had no accomplishments and was a waste. text demonstrates numerous defects regarding doctrine and misleading usage of historical data, as usual for this author.
This was most definitely a very informative book on communism. the best, if you want a quick & understandable read about its history. makes me want to read more about communism honestly. i really adore history.
A whistle stop analysis of the economic and philosophical theory and practice of communism. A useful primer for anyone with more than a superficial interest.
Indead this is an accusatory history of communism. Yet is it not a legit accusation ? Pipes, who is on the right is accused by some of being against the left... what a naive surprise for the left...
Short book that covers the history of communism in 6-ish parts: 1) Marx and Communism's origination, 2) Lenin, 3) Stalin, 4) Reception of Communism by the West, 5) Communism in other countries (e.g. China, Cuba, Cambodia, among others), and 6) Problems with Communism.
The final chapter was perhaps the most interesting. In it, the author shares his view that Communism failed not because of flawed execution but flawed theory. He rejects the notion that there was ever a period in human history where ...more
The final chapter was perhaps the most interesting. In it, the author shares his view that Communism failed not because of flawed execution but flawed theory. He rejects the notion that there was ever a period in human history where ...more
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Born in Poland, Richard Pipes fled the country with his family when Germany invaded it in 1939. After reaching the United States a year later, Pipes began his education at Muskingum College, which was interrupted in 1943 when he was drafted into the Army Air Corps and sent to Cornell to study Russian. He completed his bachelor's degree at Cornell in 1946 and earned his doctorate at Harvard Univers
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“Because totalitarian rule strives for the impossible and wants to place at its disposal the personality of man and destiny, it can be realized only in a fragmentary manner. It lies in its being that its goal can never be attained and made total but must remain a tendency, a claim to rule. . . . Totalitarian rule is not a thoroughly rationalized apparatus, that works with equal effectiveness in all its parts. This is something it would well like to be and in some places it may perhaps approach this ideal, but seen as a whole, its claim to power is realizable only in a diffuse manner, with very different intensities at various times in various realms of life; at the same time, totalitarian and non-totalitarian features are always commingled. But this is precisely why the consequences of the totalitarian claim to power are so dangerous and oppressive, because they are so hazy, so incalculable, and so difficult to demonstrate. . . . This contortion follows from the unfulfillable aspiration to power: it characterizes life under such a regime and makes it so exceedingly difficult for all outsiders to grasp.”
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“It needs to be stated at this point that the ideal of a propertyless Golden Age is a myth—the fruit of longing rather than memory—because historians, archaeologists, and anthropologists concur that there never was a time or place when all productive assets were collectively owned. All living creatures, from the most primitive to the most advanced, in order to survive must enjoy assured access to food and, to secure such access, claim ownership of territory.”
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