{"product_id":"the-shortest-history-of-the-sheila-fitzpatrick-9780231207171","title":"The Shortest History of the Soviet Union","description":"\u003cp\u003eIn 1917, Bolshevik revolutionaries came to power in the war-torn Russian Empire in a way that defied all predictions, including their own. Scarcely a lifespan later, in 1991, the Soviet Union collapsed as accidentally as it arose. The decades between witnessed drama on an epic scale--the chaos and hope of revolution, famines and purges, hard-won victory in history's most destructive war, and worldwide geopolitical conflict, all entwined around the dream of building a better society. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThis book is a lively and authoritative distillation of this complex history, told with vivid details, a grand sweep, and wry wit. The acclaimed historian Sheila Fitzpatrick chronicles the Soviet Age--its rise, reign, and unexpected fall, as well as its afterlife in today's Russia. She underscores the many ironies of the Soviet experience: An ideology that claimed to offer humanity the reins of history wrangled with contingency. An avowedly internationalist and anti-imperialist state birthed an array of nationalisms. And a vision of transcending economic and social inequality and injustice gave rise to a country that was, in its way, surprisingly normal. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eMoving seamlessly from Lenin to Stalin to Gorbachev to Putin, \u003ci\u003eThe Shortest History of the Soviet Union\u003c\/i\u003e provides an indispensable guide to one of the twentieth century's great powers and the enduring fascination it still exerts.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Sheila Fitzpatrick\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0231207174\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780231207171\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Columbia University Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 07\/26\/2022\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 256\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.50lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 5.00h x 7.80w x 0.70d","brand":"Sheila Fitzpatrick","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":43992693604607,"sku":"9780231207171","price":25.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_62a15733-b645-4dd1-abc5-c05410657734.jpg?v=1683320261","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/the-shortest-history-of-the-sheila-fitzpatrick-9780231207171","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}