Pipes’ “Russia Under the Old Regime” is also a beloved classic. Not as sexy as the books on the revolution - less action! - but a great survey of the Tsarist government and ofc the ever-looming peasant issue. It does have the significant virtue of being a lot shorter too :).
Kind of indifferent to the book club idea, but imo one of your great strengths as a podcaster is your enthusiasm for the subject, so if you think this topic would engender that fervor, go for it, I’ll listen.
Dangit, looks like I made a mistake in choosing Figes work over Pipes’ —both are 40-50 hours of reading. Have you read Figes’ by chance? I’m too early in to give it a rating, but it’s much more recent. Agree that McMeekin’s is the best overall book on the Russian Revolution but more reading is needed if you want to get into all the nooks and crannies. I might have to shelve Figes’ work and move to Pipes.
On another note, I have two good book recommendations for you: Endgame 1944: How Stalin Won the War by Jonathan Dimbleby (just released last year) and Twilight of the Gods: War in the Western Pacific 1944-1945 by Ian Toll.
Both accomplish a feat which is extremely difficult for most authors, that is seamlessly switching from the grand strategic/political view down to the tactical and then on the ground perspective of the war. With Endgame, Dimbleby will effortlessly switch from covering the Yalta Conference to first hand accounts of German and Soviet soldiers, often from diary entries. The stuff he was able to uncover is extraordinary — the section on the Korsun Pocket is one of the ugliest depictions of human misery I’ve ever read. Definitely worth a read.
Twilight is the final entry of a nearly decade-long trilogy by Toll on the Pacific War. He does a great job giving a truly holistic picture of the war, again seamlessly switching from the political angle to the personality conflicts of the commanders to the insane logistical feats to the naval battles to the brutal land campaigns and more. One of the few authors to be able to truly give a sense of “epicness” to a work, something I’ve found is much rarer than you’d expect.
One huge thing that stuck out is something you pointed out regarding Shelby Foote’s chronicle of the Civil War — the incredible amount of human capital available at the time, both on the American and Japanese sides. They’re always concocting some 8D chess move to outwit each other, then the opponent will counter them in ways few people alive would be able to conjure up. He obviously has access to many more American sources so the focus is more there, but the sections and examinations of the Japanese are some of the best imo.
Toll’s writing is so good that I’ll almost find myself sitting in awe sometimes. His capture of the human angle makes it emotionally investing and easy to read (never thought I’d find myself getting emotional over the sinking of the Musashi).
Full disclosure I do have a personal stake as my grandpa fought on Okinawa (80 years ago today), but I feel Toll’s trilogy is a good contender for the American Odyssey
Pipes’ “Russia Under the Old Regime” is also a beloved classic. Not as sexy as the books on the revolution - less action! - but a great survey of the Tsarist government and ofc the ever-looming peasant issue. It does have the significant virtue of being a lot shorter too :).
Kind of indifferent to the book club idea, but imo one of your great strengths as a podcaster is your enthusiasm for the subject, so if you think this topic would engender that fervor, go for it, I’ll listen.
Also very much in favor of Conundrum Cluster book club!
Dangit, looks like I made a mistake in choosing Figes work over Pipes’ —both are 40-50 hours of reading. Have you read Figes’ by chance? I’m too early in to give it a rating, but it’s much more recent. Agree that McMeekin’s is the best overall book on the Russian Revolution but more reading is needed if you want to get into all the nooks and crannies. I might have to shelve Figes’ work and move to Pipes.
On another note, I have two good book recommendations for you: Endgame 1944: How Stalin Won the War by Jonathan Dimbleby (just released last year) and Twilight of the Gods: War in the Western Pacific 1944-1945 by Ian Toll.
Both accomplish a feat which is extremely difficult for most authors, that is seamlessly switching from the grand strategic/political view down to the tactical and then on the ground perspective of the war. With Endgame, Dimbleby will effortlessly switch from covering the Yalta Conference to first hand accounts of German and Soviet soldiers, often from diary entries. The stuff he was able to uncover is extraordinary — the section on the Korsun Pocket is one of the ugliest depictions of human misery I’ve ever read. Definitely worth a read.
Twilight is the final entry of a nearly decade-long trilogy by Toll on the Pacific War. He does a great job giving a truly holistic picture of the war, again seamlessly switching from the political angle to the personality conflicts of the commanders to the insane logistical feats to the naval battles to the brutal land campaigns and more. One of the few authors to be able to truly give a sense of “epicness” to a work, something I’ve found is much rarer than you’d expect.
One huge thing that stuck out is something you pointed out regarding Shelby Foote’s chronicle of the Civil War — the incredible amount of human capital available at the time, both on the American and Japanese sides. They’re always concocting some 8D chess move to outwit each other, then the opponent will counter them in ways few people alive would be able to conjure up. He obviously has access to many more American sources so the focus is more there, but the sections and examinations of the Japanese are some of the best imo.
Toll’s writing is so good that I’ll almost find myself sitting in awe sometimes. His capture of the human angle makes it emotionally investing and easy to read (never thought I’d find myself getting emotional over the sinking of the Musashi).
Full disclosure I do have a personal stake as my grandpa fought on Okinawa (80 years ago today), but I feel Toll’s trilogy is a good contender for the American Odyssey
Figes is really good, arguably better than Pipes imo, although you can’t go wrong with either, they’re both excellent. I’ve read them both.
“Natasha’s Dance” by Figes is also well worth reading if a breezier, cultural history is something you think you might enjoy.