This is a good book for those who prefer an easy-to-read book on history... or for those who are interested but easily bored at the thought of opening a history book. The chapters are not particularly long and with the exception of some Russian terminology, the verbiage is simple enough.

From what I've been able to determine, this seems to be the state of the art in single volume Russian Histories as Russia comes out of "The Soviet Era" where meaningful histories were at best very hard to come by.



As a long time student of history, I'm just now turning my sites to Russia, so I don't claim to be an expert. But when I started dating a delightful woman from Russian, my interest in learning as much as I could about her homeland was a natural. As I started to research the topic, I was a bit surprised to find how difficult it was to find thorough histories of Russia ... until I began to understand that "Soviet times" made serious treatment of history exceptionally challenging ... and Soviet times have only been a thing of the past for a relatively short period of time.



So, given that there simply isn't as yet a wide variety of material available on this subject, it wasn't to hard to sort out which were among the best, and "A History of Russia" seems to be one of the top contenders. I use it in conjunction with the Penguin Historical Atlas of Russia (with tons of very helpful maps) and find I'm getting a great and detailed overview of Russia's past. I'll have a better feeling for how balanced and accurate this work is after I've had a chance to read more books on the topic, but it seems that this book is at very least a great place to start one's research of Russia's past.



I will point out here, as I did with the Penguin Atlas, if you're looking for information on the ANCIENT history of Russia ... or, perhaps more accurately ... Russia's pre-history ... you won't find too much here. I don't think that's a failing of this book ... there just doesn't seem to be that much written history of what came before Kievan Russia or much archaeology of this area. Unlike nations such as Britain or Egypt where much was written and much has been excavated, Russia, more like the United States, has a very detailed history of it's recent past ... and very little detailed information about it's more distant past.



With that said, I think "A History of Russia" is a great place to begin one's studies of Russia. Reviews by others with more expertise seem to suggest it's more than just a beginner's introduction ... but you should rely on their reviews for that point of view.

From what I've been able to determine, this seems to be the state of the art in single volume Russian Histories as Russia comes out of "The Soviet Era" where meaningful histories were at best very hard to come by.

As a long time student of history, I'm just now turning my sites to Russia, so I don't claim to be an expert. But when I started dating a delightful woman from Russian, my interest in learning as much as I could about her homeland was a natural. As I started to research the topic, I was a bit surprised to find how difficult it was to find thorough histories of Russia ... until I began to understand that "Soviet times" made serious treatment of history exceptionally challenging ... and Soviet times have only been a thing of the past for a relatively short period of time.

So, given that there simply isn't as yet a wide variety of material available on this subject, it wasn't to hard to sort out which were among the best, and "A History of Russia" seems to be one of the top contenders. I use it in conjunction with the Penguin Historical Atlas of Russia (with tons of very helpful maps) and find I'm getting a great and detailed overview of Russia's past. I'll have a better feeling for how balanced and accurate this work is after I've had a chance to read more books on the topic, but it seems that this book is at very least a great place to start one's research of Russia's past.

I will point out here, as I did with the Penguin Atlas, if you're looking for information on the ANCIENT history of Russia ... or, perhaps more accurately ... Russia's pre-history ... you won't find too much here. I don't think that's a failing of this book ... there just doesn't seem to be that much written history of what came before Kievan Russia or much archaeology of this area. Unlike nations such as Britain or Egypt where much was written and much has been excavated, Russia, more like the United States, has a very detailed history of it's recent past ... and very little detailed information about it's more distant past.

With that said, I think "A History of Russia" is a great place to begin one's studies of Russia. Reviews by others with more expertise seem to suggest it's more than just a beginner's introduction ... but you should rely on their reviews for that point of view.

I am at a loss to explain the five-star reviews of this book. It is one of the most poorly written history books I have ever read. Sentences and facts are constantly qualified, as if the author is afraid to state a fact or opinion. The thoughts and flow are poorly organized, which the author attempts to correct by using long compound sentences. Frequent reference is made to other works with nothing more, like "the Slavs ate green cheese, although some of it wasn't green and one must consider the arguments of Miakovsky in that regard".

I was very excited to get a history of Russia, especially concerning the earlier periods, as I enjoy reading history and had just finished a good work on medieval Europe (@400 AD - 1200 AD). I really wanted to follow the connected tribal migrations and religious history to the east for the same period.

I was sorely disappointed in my purchase and put it down after 100 pages. I suggest you look elsewhere for Russian history.

I had the privilege of taking many classes given by Prof. Riasanovsky at Berkeley in the early 70's. Now as a high school teacher, I use his book as our text. It is thorough, clear, explains historical transitions well, and gets high praise from my students. Excellent index and references.

What country spans multiple time zones, is populated by peoples of numerous religions and races, was built by war, conquest and immigration, whose geography encompasses massive lakes, endless rivers, inhospitable deserts and cold arctic forests, and whose every change in step sends shivers down the spine of its neighbors? The USA? No, the answer is Russia, the topic of this comprehensive text. Covering the history of this land and its peoples from its origins at Kiev to the fall of the Soviet Union, this book is probably the ultimate text for those not familiar with this topic and want to learn about it. The book devotes attention to the usual topics such as Peter the Great, serfdom, the Russian Revolution, the two World Wars, communism and the space race / nuclear age. The book also addresses many lesser known topics about Russia's history; such as the diversity of Russia's population, and the affects of Viking invaders from the West and North, and Mongol invaders from the South and East. The book is laid out in chronological order, and a straight reading from cover to cover takes about 1 - 2 weeks of dedicated reading, and will reward the reader with an objective, and comprehensive understanding of this country; its past, present and future. I highly recommend it.

For anyone interested in an introduction to the history of Russia, I highly recommend Riasanovsky's book. It provides a thorough overview of a very rich and complicated subject within the confines of a single volume. I was impressed with the manner in which the author breaks down the timeline of Russian history and treats subtopics (such as cultural developments) separately. I just completed this book and have already recommended it to others whom I know are interested in learning more about Russia.