The Key of Liberty offers; better than any book yet published; a grassroots view of the rise of democratic opposition in the new nation. It sheds considerable light on the popular culture--literary; religious; and profane--of the epoch.
#396313 in Books Harvard University Press 1992-01-01 1997-02-15Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.25 x 1.45 x 6.13l; 1.80 #File Name: 0674304438570 pages
Review
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Great source about the rise; development and collapse of the USSRBy Armand M. InezianA great source of information about the rise; development and collapse of the USSR (1921-1991).I learned so much from reading this work and found Hosking's writing to be generally accessible; and it helps too that he doesn't write like a robot but rather like a human being. He does not shy from expressing sympathy for the victims of the USSR's million atrocities; violations; affronts; and indignities.Hosking does a nice job of smoothly moving us from the macro level to the macro in a few sentences. For example; he might start a paragraph by discussing the general state of Jewish life in Khrushchev's Russia; then discuss the Jews of "the Pale" (far Western Russia) specifically; and then write about the Russian prosecution of synagogues; and follow all that up with one specific bit of evidence maybe- for example- by citing a letter ordering the closing of a single synagogue in Kiev.I believe the book was written with college students in mind; but it's also very accessible- I would argue- to anyone who is interested in history.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Excellent resource on the Soviet periodBy John DesmondVery solid history and a good companion to Hosking's earlier work on Russia up to the Revolution. Maybe a tad apologetic about the regime and its leaders; but only a bit.14 of 16 people found the following review helpful. Dense and well writtenBy Quiet WandererThis book is dense and incredibly well written. Anyone wanting to truly get insight into why the USSR came to being needs to read this. The First Socialist Society does not get mired in political pandering or revisionist history that all too often clouds the discussion of communism. The sheer complexity of the revolution and the very real toll it took on the founders of the revolutionist state during a time of war shed light on why the Soviet Union came to be such a brutal society. It also begins to expose why through human nature; greed; and incompetence; true socialism and communism will likely never thrive or be given another chance to even exist in the foreseeable future (and for good reason). A must read for anyone serious about understanding what lies to the East of most travelers destinations.
