Ten Days That Shook the World

Ten Days That Shook the World is John Reed’s eyewitness account of the Russian Revolution. A contemporary journalist writing in the first flush of revolutionary enthusiasm, he gives a gripping record of the events in Petrograd in November 1917, when Lenin and the Bolsheviks finally seized power. Containing verbatim reports both of speeches by leaders and the chance comments of bystanders, set against an idealized backcloth of the proletariat, soldiers, sailors, and peasants uniting to throw off oppression, Reed’s account is the product of passionate involvement and remains an unsurpassed classic of reporting.

Ten Days That Shook the World is John Reed’s eyewitness account of the Russian Revolution. A contemporary journalist writing in the first flush of revolutionary enthusiasm, he gives a gripping record of the events in Petrograd in November 1917, when Lenin and the Bolsheviks finally seized power. Containing verbatim reports both of speeches by leaders and the chance comments of bystanders, set against an idealized backcloth of the proletariat, soldiers, sailors, and peasants uniting to throw off oppression, Reed’s account is the product of passionate involvement and remains an unsurpassed classic of reporting.

"This book is a slice of intensified history history as I saw it." So begins John Reed's first-hand account of the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917. Much anticipated when it was published in 1919, Reed's narrative remains as riveting today as when the events he describes were still reverberating throughout the world. Reed was hardly a disinterested observer, and his involvement in the Communist labor movement lends urgency and passion to his classic account. He vividly describes events in Petrograd in November 1917, when Vladimir Lenin and the Bolsheviks stormed the Winter Palace and seized the reins of power. Despite Reed's personal leanings, which he made no attempt to hide, the book garnered praise from luminaries across the political spectrum. George F. Kennan, the American diplomat, and father of the policy of Soviet containment, said that "Reed's account of the events of that time rises above every other contemporary record for its literary power, its penetration, its command of detail. It will be remembered when all others are forgotten." Reed was committed to telling the story of the Russian revolution as truthfully as possible. That the book was banned by Russian premier Josef Stalin is a testament to the author's success in carrying out his mission. One hundred years after Russia and the world trembled, Ten Days that Shook the World brings alive the momentous events of 1917.

"This book is a slice of intensified history history as I saw it." So begins John Reed's first-hand account of the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917. Much anticipated when it was published in 1919, Reed's narrative remains as riveting today as when the events he describes were still reverberating throughout the world. Reed was hardly a disinterested observer, and his involvement in the Communist labor movement lends urgency and passion to his classic account. He vividly describes events in Petrograd in November 1917, when Vladimir Lenin and the Bolsheviks stormed the Winter Palace and seized the reins of power. Despite Reed's personal leanings, which he made no attempt to hide, the book garnered praise from luminaries across the political spectrum. George F. Kennan, the American diplomat, and father of the policy of Soviet containment, said that "Reed's account of the events of that time rises above every other contemporary record for its literary power, its penetration, its command of detail. It will be remembered when all others are forgotten." Reed was committed to telling the story of the Russian revolution as truthfully as possible. That the book was banned by Russian premier Josef Stalin is a testament to the author's success in carrying out his mission. One hundred years after Russia and the world trembled, Ten Days that Shook the World brings alive the momentous events of 1917.

Ten Days That Shook the World by John Reed. Ten Days That Shook the World (1919) is a book by the American journalist and socialist John Reed about the October Revolution in Russia in 1917, which Reed experienced firsthand. THIS book is a slice of intensified history - history as I saw it. It does not pretend to be anything but a detailed account of the November Revolution, when the Bolsheviki, at the head of the workers and soldiers, seized the state power of Russia and placed it in the hands of the Soviets. Naturally most of it deals with "Red Petrograd," the capital and heart of the insurrection. But the reader must realize that what took place in Petrograd was almost exactly duplicated, with greater or lesser intensity, at different intervals of time, all over Russia. In this book, the first of several which I am writing, I must confine myself to a chronicle of those events which I myself observed and experienced, and those supported by reliable evidence; preceded by two chapters briefly outlining the background and causes of the November Revolution. I am aware that these two chapters make difficult reading, but they are essential to an understanding of what follows.

Ten Days That Shook the World by John Reed. Ten Days That Shook the World (1919) is a book by the American journalist and socialist John Reed about the October Revolution in Russia in 1917, which Reed experienced firsthand. THIS book is a slice of intensified history - history as I saw it. It does not pretend to be anything but a detailed account of the November Revolution, when the Bolsheviki, at the head of the workers and soldiers, seized the state power of Russia and placed it in the hands of the Soviets. Naturally most of it deals with "Red Petrograd," the capital and heart of the insurrection. But the reader must realize that what took place in Petrograd was almost exactly duplicated, with greater or lesser intensity, at different intervals of time, all over Russia. In this book, the first of several which I am writing, I must confine myself to a chronicle of those events which I myself observed and experienced, and those supported by reliable evidence; preceded by two chapters briefly outlining the background and causes of the November Revolution. I am aware that these two chapters make difficult reading, but they are essential to an understanding of what follows.

"Ten Days That Shook the World is not only the best account of the Bolshevik revolution, it comes near to being the best account of any revolution." -A.J.P. Taylor, historian (1964) American journalist John Reed experienced firsthand the Bolshevik revolution of 1917 and describes this in colorful detail in Ten Days That Shook the World, with introductions by Vladimir Lenin and by Lenin's wife Nadezhda Krupskaya. This book received wide praise from many reviewers, even from Soviet critic and US diplomat George F. Kennan, who said in 1956: "Reed's account of the events of that time rises above every other contemporary record for its literary power, its penetration, its command of detail." Ten Days That Shook the World was also the basis of the 1928 Russian movie with the same title by Sergei Eisenstein, and the 1981 Oscar winning movie Reds about the life of John Reed, directed by Warren Beatty. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in the Russian revolution and the history of Russia.

"Ten Days That Shook the World is not only the best account of the Bolshevik revolution, it comes near to being the best account of any revolution."-A.J.P. Taylor, historian (1964) American journalist John Reed experienced firsthand the Bolshevik revolution of 1917 and describes this in colorful detail in Ten Days That Shook the World, with introductions by Vladimir Lenin and by Lenin's wife Nadezhda Krupskaya. This book received wide praise from many reviewers, even from Soviet critic and US diplomat George F. Kennan, who said in 1956: "Reed's account of the events of that time rises above every other contemporary record for its literary power, its penetration, its command of detail." Ten Days That Shook the World was also the basis of the 1928 Russian movie with the same title by Sergei Eisenstein, and the 1981 Oscar winning movie Reds about the life of John Reed, directed by Warren Beatty. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in the Russian revolution and the history of Russia.