ebooks The Russian Civil War 1918–22 (Essential Histories) by David Bullock in History

Review

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. A Great Research Tool on the Russian Civil WarBy Brian Wayne WellsThis book was a fortuitous find for me. History and English were my minors during my undergraduate years in the late 1960s until the early 1970s. As an undergraduate; I had a professor that told me that the "Super Bowl" of historical study of 20th Century was really the First World War. Additionally; in the BBC television series on the Second World War called "World at War" which played on American television in the early 1980s; I heard the late Steven Ambrose; himself a noted World War II historian; calling World War II only the second half of a great European civil war; of which World War I was the first part. All of this stuck with me and as a result; I began to study what I could of the First World War.However; I soon became aware of the absolute dearth of material on the eastern front of the First World War as compared to the wealth of material on the western front of that war. I also learned; at the time; that although the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was purported to have ended the war on the eastern front; the Treaty really did not end the war but rather changed the war into a civil war in Russia complete with foreign intervention by the Entente Powers.During my working career; however; I largely dropped my study of this interesting time in European history. Consequently; when I recently returned to my studies of the eastern front and the Russian Civil War in retirement; I found this book and I also found a recent spate of publication had occurred in books on the eastern front and the Russian Civil War. Finding all this new material on an old topic of interest was a very pleasant surprise to me and I continue to bathe myself in the sheer luxury of this new wealth of writing on an old topic of research. However; this book; by David Bullock; with its collection of color maps and the chronology section; common to most Osprey-published books; stands out. The book has became my close at hand reference book as I read the other books on the subject.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. An Excellent Concise History.By avolfI am a student of Russian Civil War and read quite a lot about it. Nevertheless; there were numerous details in this book that I never knew. It's a very well written book with correct inferences and unbiased conclusions that make sense. It doesn't pretend to be a detailed history of this war - no book can ever be - but it has more than enough meat to sink one's teeth into. All Osprey books are limited in size; but this book makes the most of it; doing justice to one of the most complicated; tragic and influential conflicts in the history of mankind. It would be a very good book if written by a Russian writer; but the fact that a foreigner wrote it makes it excellent.20 of 22 people found the following review helpful. Shallow -- not much more than a glorified chronologyBy R. C. SchmultsIf you are looking for a good overview of the Russian Civil war this probably isn't in. This volume is spare with little more than the most general overview of the campaigns. Despite attempts at deeper dives in a couple of subject area (e.g.; the role of Women in the Civil War); this book is mostly about "when" things happened; with only the barest description of "what" and nothing at all on "how." How did Trotsky rework the Red forces? The book lets you know he did this but nothing on what was by all accounts a critical component of the Red success. How did the White forces first come together? They essentially spring up and start fighting in this book. Readers may be aware that the Ukraine was a major battle ground during this period. But it merits only a few paragraphs in this book. Key commanders get only the barest of introductions -- their birth and WWI decorations being apparently all that is necessary to convey.Since the author apparently interviewed veterans of the Civil War; you have to assume he has some background in the subject. But almost nothing from these interviews or any other source material seems to have made it through to the book.If you are looking for a quick read to get a general sense of the Russian Civil War; then this book is a good fit. If you are really interested in the topic and want to get an understanding of what happened and why; you will need to look elsewhere.