A good book on Russian History, any suggestions?

Question by Mrs. Bothwell: I need to find a good book on Russian History, any suggestions?
It is a Christmas gift for my husband. Russian history is something I know zero about, so I’m afraid I wouldn’t be able to tell a good solid book from another.
Thank You very much I found a good book!

Answers and Views:

Answer by Spellbound *JPA RIP flackie
Geoffrey Hosking’s Russia People and Empire 1552 – 1917 is a great book covering everything from the capture of Kazan’, when Russia became a multicultural / multi-ethnic empire, to the end of the Tsars.
Martin McCauley’s The Soviet Union 1917 – 1991 gives a really good oversight into the Soviet Period.
Robert Service’s Lenin, a Biography – obviously about Lenin from his childhood in the provincial city of Simbirsk.
His Stalin, A Biography is a fascinating read (better than the Simon Sebag Montefiore biography – the Court of the Red Tsar).
Sheila Fitzpatrick’s The Russian Revolution is a great academic book about the events of 1917.
Roy Medvedev’s The October Revolution is a really interesting account of the Revolution as seen through the eyes of probably the best historian who was working from within the Soviet Union.
Brian Moynahan’s The Russian Century is a great book – it’s full of photos from 1900 to 2000.
For pleasure reading I’d recommend the Moynahan, Hosking’s and Service’s books – they are brilliant. For academic reading the Fitzpatrick , McCauley or Medvedev books.
All should be available at Waterstones, Dillions or Amazon

Source – MA in Soviet and Russian Politics

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