Sheila Fitzpatrick's "The Russian Revolution" is concise and well-written, making sense out of a very confusing and confused time. She sees the events generally referred to as The Russian Revolution as a series of revolutions, each with its distinct character and players, beginning with the uprisings in 1905, and culminating in Stalin's consolidation of his power with the Great Purges of the 1930's. Professor Fitzpatrick writes clearly and economically, with a dry wit which animates each page. An interesting and lively analysis.

I am enjoying this book immensely. I was looking for a good intermediate source to transition me from a Wiki-level knowledge of the RR (which I already had) to the point where I felt capable of tackling a professional academic tome on the RR (which I would like to someday do). Fitzpatrick's book fits this bill nicely. Each chapter covers a certain time period and starts out with a short intro (just a few pages) that mentions the major controversies among historians about how to view the events of this period. The author occasionally takes a side in these debates, but usually just presents them so that the reader is aware of their existence. Then she launches into the chapter, which pretty much just consists of a summary of events. The book is dense with facts but is also a very quick and easy read. In other words, the perfect thing for someone who is interested in this topic but not used to reading huge academic history books, or for someone who just wants the facts without any thesis that the author is trying to prove.