I started this book without any expectations. My education, while varied, failed in some aspects, and I do try to rectify that. So, as anyone would do, I went to my university library and asked where their Soviet history section was. There were loads of books on Stalin and Lenin, but frankly I'm not interested in them. This one caught my eye though.
The title may seem vague, the chapters might look scary, but I beg that you give it a chance! It is not that terribly complicated. The author holds you hand through just enough that you don't get lost, but doesn't treat you like you're incapable of learning by yourself. In fact, while this is a great book, the thing I liked the most were the footnotes. They are very detailed, precise and useful.