Books : Comrades: Communism: A World History

Rating: - Readable account of communism
The author has written a reasonable account of communism. He shows how communism derived from a number of ideas that lie far back in time - many existing well before the French Revolution. He discusses various movements that led to liberalism and socialism - all stemming from the so called Enlightment.

The socialist branches themselves subdivided into several different types of socialism of which communism was one sub-branch and this in itself was divided further since Marxism was initially only one type of communism.

At this stage he gives a brief outline of the some of the main ideas behind Marxism (i.e. 'inverted' Hegelianism, the surplus value theory of economics, historical necessity and so on). This introduction gets the ball rolling. Although he later mentions that Soviet theorists decided that Marx must have derived many of his ideas from Kant as well from Hegel contrary to what many scholars had previously thought, Marxism, Marxist-Leninism and Maoism never get the sort of in-depth theoretical disection in this book that a philosopher or an economist would like (even an amateur economist or philosopher) but only enough information is given to enable the author to get the history moving.

The author then deals with the Russian Revolution, the history of the USSR, the spread of communism to China, Eastern Europe and elsewhere after the Second World War and the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe and the fate of communism parties in Western Europe and elsewhere.

Although the author isn't the best prose writer I have ever read, his style isn't as awful as another reviewer claims. It is readable though not inspired. The author doesn't hide the horrors of Stalinism and Maoism from readers. Altogether this is a fascinating read on an immense subject.

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Rating: - This is history?
This book receives two stars for having a good contents, index and references for further reading and ease of access for students or readers wishing to make a quick reference.

It is a history of communism from an anti-communist author, as other reviewers have indicated, however that in itself is not what makes this such a poor, poor book. There are excellent examples of historical writing by authors who are not necessarily sympathetic towards their subject matter, such as Anthony Beevor's books on Stalingrad, Berlin or The Spanish Civil War (AKA The Struggle for Spain).

From the outset I had a strong sense that it would be possible to read the introduction and concluding chapter "Accounting for Communism" and still have a clear idea of the book in its entirety. It is an excellent summation of the authors opinion and that's what this book is, thinly veiled opinion.

The scope of the book is collossal, incorporating a great number of different ideological, cultural, ethnic, national and economic/developmental contexts and honestly I dont believe that it could all be dealt with in such a short, single volume.

In the concluding chapter "Accounting for Communism" Service does an incredibly disappointing number, suggesting that communism was purely and simply a vehicle for authoritarian personalities, cultures and psyches who are now instead finding a home in radical sectarianism in the form of islamic terror.

This is clearly in keeping with the ideology of libertarina and classical economists such as Hayek but for a historian is a travesty, it is infact a vindication of sinister right wing thinking of the kind behind fascism that through a "triumph of the will" leaders can assure their ascendency and put their personal stamp upon history.

There are good, considered and political analysis of the emergence of communism in different contexts and the role of authoritarian culture or at least the lack of democratic or liberal culture and norms, in both China, Russia and elsewhere. However this is not it and some of them, for instance Eric Fromm and Theodore Ardono are socialists who I suspect would be considered as one of a kind with Stalin et al.

Save your money and by Gulag Archepelago instead.

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Rating: - Biased
I was really looking forward to 'Comrades' arriving but after reading the introduction was already beginning to feel a little disappointed. Robert Service is clearly a very intelligent man who has trawled through miles of archives. Unfortunately he cannot hide the fact that he is rabidly anti-Communist. He makes too many childish remarks about the most prominent leaders and even the colour prints in the centre of the book are accompanied by petty jibes. We know that life under Communism was never the utopia it had hoped to be and that in many Communist states life was truly a nightmare of terror and repression. Unfortunately because of Service's style and commentary I get no sense of how much of the suffering came to be. It is too simplistic to claim that Communism was intrisically bad when it's stated aim was to build a human paradise. We must understand why it went so wrong. This book does not tell us that. Really disappointing.

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Rating: - Rubbish when it's not on Russia
This is an awful book. It is very poorly written and dull to read. It's obvious that the author (an expert on Russia) knows very little about Eastern Europe, China, Africa, Cuba, or anywhere else with a Communist movement. Many of his generalizations (and the book is little else) are regurgitated from the literature of 30 years ago. There is nothing new in this book. It has no insights - even on the Soviet Union - to make it worth the bother of ploughing through its dreadful prose.

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Rating: - The People's Book is deepest red
For those historians who like to think big, and take the brave decision to write a book which tackles a very large concept, a long period of time or controversial idea, it is difficult not to fall in to a trap of excessive simplicity or letting the bigger picture slip away amidst a barrage of details. Few subjects are as complex, debatable or relevant as communism, and this is the story of an ideology that changed the world.

It is also a subject on which it is impossible to be neutral. Communism as a monstrous ideology which led to more deaths than Facism, a brutal system implemented by thuggish dictators? Or a utopian idea whose time was not right, or that was implemented in the wrong places? A brave attempt at challenging age old iniquities, or an concept with a foolish disregard for human weaknesses. With this in mind it is important to note that Robert Service does have a bias, but that all historians do, and he does his job as an academic historian well with a thorough grasp of the sources available.

Some have commented that Service does not come across as a fan of communism. To be fair this might be true, but then given the raft of evidence at hand of the excesses in the Soviet system this is unsurprising. What is more important is that as far as possible Service approaches the subject dispassionately and does not become a slave to an ideological dogma. Instead he is thorough in his research, and lets the evidence speak for itself.

Unsurprisingly he is an expert in the history of Russia, a fellow of St Antony's College, Oxford and was one of the first historians to gain access to the Soviet archives after the collapse of the USSR. Having written biographies on Lenin, Stalin and working on the end of this literary triptych with Trotsky, he has broadened his subject out to the ideology that most affected modern Russia, and looks at its historical roots, and its global impact.

Service is stronger when talking about Russia and Europe, with a wealth of experience and knowledge quite evident. But he is more than able when dealing with communism's impact around the world. He is not limited to a specific time period, and deals with the pre-19th century roots (albeit in a slight gallop - this is only a single volume) and the present day.

Service might be an academic historian, but he also has a flair for writing. He has an engaging and natural style, and an excitement and interest in the subject which leaps from the page. Russian history is well served by excellent writers, Orlando Figes, Richard Pipes and Simon Sebag Montefiore included, but Service now deserves a much higher profile amongst this quartet.

The only criticism is that it is a subject so vast as to be necessarily done a disservice by a single volume. But as a primer or introductory text, or as a very readable piece of history, it is excellent.

Again, weaknesses of Amazon's star system prevent giving a more accurate 4.5 stars. But it seemed harsh to drop down to a 4 for a really rather excellent book.