Caught in the revolution : Petrograd, Russia, 1917-- a world on the edge / Helen Rappaport.

By:

Rappaport, Helen

Material type: Text

9781250056641
1250056640

Subject(s):

Genre/Form:

Contents:

Prologue: 'The air is thick with talk of catastrophe' -- Part 1: The February Revolution. 'Women are beginning to rebel at standing in bread lines' ; 'No place for an innocent boy from Kansas' ; 'Like a bank holiday with thunder in the air' ; 'A revolution carried on by chance' ; Easy access to vodka 'would have precipitated a reign of terror' ; 'Good to be alive these marvelous days' ; 'People still blinking in the light of the sudden deliverance' ; The Field of Mars ; Bolsheviki! It sounds 'like all that the world fears' -- Part 2: The July days. 'The greatest thing in history since Joan of Arc' ; 'What would the colony say if we ran away?' ; 'This pest-hole of a capital' -- Part 3: The October Revolution. 'For color and terror and grandeur this makes Mexico look pale' ; 'We woke up to find the town in the hands of the Bolsheviks' ; 'Crazy people killing each other just like we swat flies at home' -- Postscript: The forgotten voices of Petrograd.

Scope and content: "Caught in the Revolution is Helen Rappaport's masterful telling of the outbreak of the Russian Revolution through eye-witness accounts left by foreign nationals who saw the drama unfold. Between the first revolution in February 1917 and Lenin's Bolshevik coup in October, Petrograd (the former St. Petersburg) was in turmoil--felt nowhere more keenly than on the fashionable Nevsky Prospekt. There, the foreign visitors who filled hotels, clubs, bars and embassies were acutely aware of the chaos breaking out on their doorsteps and beneath their windows. Among this disparate group were journalists, diplomats, businessmen, bankers, governesses, volunteer nurses and expatriate socialites. Many kept diaries and wrote letters home: from an English nurse who had already survived the sinking of the Titanic; to the black valet of the US Ambassador, far from his native Deep South; to suffragette leader Emmeline Pankhurst, who had come to Petrograd to inspect the indomitable Women's Death Battalion led by Maria Bochkareva. Helen Rappaport draws upon this rich trove of material, much of it previously unpublished, to carry us right up to the action--to see, feel and hear the Revolution as it happened to an assortment of individuals who suddenly felt themselves trapped in a 'red madhouse'"-- Provided by publisher.

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Holdings
Item type	Current library	Collection	Shelving location	Call number	Status	Date due	Barcode	Item holds
Adult Book	Phillipsburg Free Public Library	Adult Non-Fiction	Adult Non-Fiction	355 0094 RAP	Available		36748002494146

Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Romanov Sisters , Caught in the Revolution is Helen Rappaport's masterful telling of the outbreak of the Russian Revolution through eye-witness accounts left by foreign nationals who saw the drama unfold.

Between the first revolution in February 1917 and Lenin's Bolshevik coup in October, Petrograd (the former St Petersburg) was in turmoil - felt nowhere more keenly than on the fashionable Nevsky Prospekt. There, the foreign visitors who filled hotels, clubs, offices and embassies were acutely aware of the chaos breaking out on their doorsteps and beneath their windows.

Among this disparate group were journalists, diplomats, businessmen, bankers, governesses, volunteer nurses and expatriate socialites. Many kept diaries and wrote letters home: from an English nurse who had already survived the sinking of the Titanic; to the black valet of the US Ambassador, far from his native Deep South; to suffragette leader Emmeline Pankhurst, who had come to Petrograd to inspect the indomitable Women's Death Battalion led by Maria Bochkareva.

Helen Rappaport draws upon this rich trove of material, much of it previously unpublished, to carry us right up to the action - to see, feel and hear the Revolution as it happened to an assortment of individuals who suddenly felt themselves trapped in a "red madhouse."

Includes bibliographical references and index.

"Caught in the Revolution is Helen Rappaport's masterful telling of the outbreak of the Russian Revolution through eye-witness accounts left by foreign nationals who saw the drama unfold. Between the first revolution in February 1917 and Lenin's Bolshevik coup in October, Petrograd (the former St. Petersburg) was in turmoil--felt nowhere more keenly than on the fashionable Nevsky Prospekt. There, the foreign visitors who filled hotels, clubs, bars and embassies were acutely aware of the chaos breaking out on their doorsteps and beneath their windows. Among this disparate group were journalists, diplomats, businessmen, bankers, governesses, volunteer nurses and expatriate socialites. Many kept diaries and wrote letters home: from an English nurse who had already survived the sinking of the Titanic; to the black valet of the US Ambassador, far from his native Deep South; to suffragette leader Emmeline Pankhurst, who had come to Petrograd to inspect the indomitable Women's Death Battalion led by Maria Bochkareva. Helen Rappaport draws upon this rich trove of material, much of it previously unpublished, to carry us right up to the action--to see, feel and hear the Revolution as it happened to an assortment of individuals who suddenly felt themselves trapped in a 'red madhouse'"-- Provided by publisher.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

List of Illustrations (p. ix)
Glossary of Eyewitnesses (p. xiii)
Author's Note (p. xxv)
Map of Petrograd 1917 (p. xxviii)
Prologue: 'The Air is Thick with Talk of Catastrophe' (p. 1)
Part 1 The February Revolution
1 'Women are Beginning to Rebel at Standing in Bread Lines' (p. 7)
2 'No Place for an Innocent Boy from Kansas' (p. 40)
3 'Like a Bank Holiday with Thunder in the Air' (p. 61)
4 'A Revolution Carried on by Chance' (p. 82)
5 Easy Access to Vodka 'Would Have Precipitated a Reign of Terror' (p. 106)
6 'Good to be Alive These Marvelous Days' (p. 122)
7 'People Still Blinking m the Light of the Sudden Deliverance' (p. 134)
8 The Field of Mars (p. 152)
9 Bolsheviki! It Sounds 'Like All that the World Fears' (p. 160)
Part 2 The July Days
10 'The Greatest Thing in History since Joan of Arc' (p. 187)
11 'What. Would the Colony Say if We Ran Away?' (p. 207)
12 'This Pest-Hole of a Capital' (p. 232)
Part 3 The October Revolution
13 'For Color and Terror and Grandeur This Makes Mexico Look Pale' (p. 257)
14 'We Woke Up to Find the Town in the Hands of the Bolsheviks' (p. 277)
15 'Crazy People Killing Each Other Just Like We Swat Flies at Home' (p. 301)
Postscript: The Forgotten Voices of Petrograd (p. 324)
Acknowledgements (p. 335)
Notes (p. 341)
Bibliography (p. 385)
Index (p. 405)

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Library Journal Review

Rappaport expands her Russianist oeuvre beyond her four previous works, including The Romanov Sisters, with an inclusive narrative of the 1917 Russian Revolution through the eyes of diplomatic and journalistic European witnesses. A series of devastating revolts in that year saw bolshevism rise out of the ashes of the Romanov monarchy. At the time, Petrograd (now Saint Petersburg) was a cosmopolitan community of expats, journalists, and diplomats. These American, French, and British residents quickly went from a "demi-monde" life of privilege to threats of mortal danger and suffering privations along with the Russian people during the incendiary events of the uprising. Rappaport scoured firsthand accounts to tell the story through these memoirist outsiders who witnessed the birth of a new nation and political ideology, "Bolsheviki." Although citing standard resources such as John Reeds's Ten Days That Shook the World, the research represents the most comprehensive compendium to date of non-Russian perspectives across social classes. Includes a glossary of eyewitnesses along with an extensive bibliography and index. VERDICT An engaging if challenging look at a country's collapse with worldwide repercussions. Informed general readers will enjoy this glimpse into history; scholars will declare it a definitive study.-Jessica Bushore, Xenia, OH © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Publishers Weekly Review

Rappaport (The Romanov Sisters) adopts an eyewitness approach to the Russian Revolution of 1917 in this fun, fast-paced, yet frivolous work. She bases her story on the firsthand accounts of Westerners in Petrograd at the time-a mixed bag of bankers, diplomats, journalists, socialists, and socialites, including Julia Dent Grant (granddaughter of Ulysses S. Grant); journalists Florence Harper, Arthur Ransome, and John Reed; and American war photographer Donald Thompson. Some witnesses braved the mob scene with camera and notebook in hand. Others barricaded themselves in their offices and watched through their windows, fearing for their lives as the violence escalated. Rappaport fails to really develop these personalities, and the perspective changes as rapidly as the street names. Compared to Reed's Ten Days that Shook the World or Richard Pipes's classic The Russian Revolution 1899-1919, this is revolution-lite, very colorful but without much analysis or context. Rappaport treats readers to glimpses of the general strikes, bread protests, looting, and red banner-waving through the smoky-rose glasses of these wistful and unprepared foreigners. Sadly, the Russians are reduced to a ragged, hungry monochrome mass. Map & illus. Agent: Caroline Michel, Peters Fraser & Dunlop. (Mar.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Booklist Review

Best-selling author Rappaport, whose books on Russia include The Romanov Sisters (2014), here tackles two standout revolutions in an explosive year and tumultuous location: the February and October 1917 revolutions in Petrograd, Russia. Not only that, but she also approaches these momentous events from eyewitness views not usually reported in the years since: those of foreigners Europeans, Americans, and others; diplomats, valets, engineers, reporters; men and women there for a variety of reasons and befuddled or even forewarned by what was coming, yet choosing to remain, or leaving regretfully. Rappaport's elegantly detailed writing shapes and pulls together excerpts from letters, diaries, articles, and more, quoted throughout, creating the immediacy and energy of history in the making: terrifying, brutal, and unforgettable. Though Rappaport notes that her dissemination of the reports of non-Russians in the Russian Revolution seemed best held until 2017, the centenary of the revolution, little would she know how timely some of the quotes might be. To wit, newspaperman Harold Williams on the new Russians: It is nothing to them if in the throes of the great upheaval the world relapses into barbarism. --Kinney, Eloise Copyright 2017 Booklist