Ten Days That Shook the World

by John Reed

Overview

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. Reed followed many of the prominent Bolshevik leaders closely during his time in Russia. John Reed died in 1920, shortly after the book was finished, and he is one of the few Americans buried at the Kremlin Wall Necropolis in Moscow, a site normally reserved only for the most prominent Soviet leaders.

THIS book is a slice of intensified; history as I saw it. It does not pretend to be anything but a detailed account of the Russian 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. John Reed John Reed was on an assignment for The Masses, a magazine of socialist politics, when he was reporting the Russian Revolution. Although Reed states that he had "tried to see events with the eye of a conscientious reporter, interested in setting down the truth" during the time of the event, he stated in the preface that "in the struggle my sympathies were not neutral" (since the book leans towards the Bolsheviks and their viewpoints) Before John Reed left for Russia, the Espionage Act was passed on June 15, 1917, which fined and imprisoned anyone who interfered with the recruiting of soldiers and prohibited the mailing of any newspaper or magazine that promoted such sentiments. The U. S. Post Office was also given leave to deny any mailing that fitted these standards from further postal delivery, and then to disqualify a magazine because it had missed a mailing (due to the ban) and hence was no longer considered a "regular publication."

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781779450081
Publisher:	Binker North
Publication date:	02/04/2024
Pages:	236
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

John Silas Reed (October 22, 1887 - October 17, 1920) was an American journalist, poet, and communist activist, best remembered for Ten Days That Shook the World, his firsthand account of the November 1917 Bolshevik Revolution, when Lenin and the Bolsheviks seized power in Russia. He is one of three Americans honored by being buried in the Kremlin Wall Necropolis (the others are labor organizer Bill Haywood and Charles Ruthenburg, founder of the Communist Party USA). On August 17, 1917, Reed and Bryant set sail from New York to Europe, having first provided the State Department with legally sworn assurances that neither would represent the Socialist Party at a forthcoming conference in Stockholm.[35] The pair were going as working journalists to report on the sensational developments taking place in the fledgling republic of Russia. Traveling by way of Finland, the pair arrived in the capital city of Petrograd immediately after the failed military coup of monarchist General Lavr Kornilov. This was an attempt to topple the Provisional Government of Alexander Kerensky by force of arms. Reed and Bryant found the Russian economy in shambles. Several of the subject nations of the old empire, such as Finland and Ukraine, had gained autonomy and were seeking separate military accommodations with Germany. Reed and Bryant were in Petrograd for the October Revolution, in which the Bolsheviks, headed by Vladimir Lenin, toppled the Kerensky government; the Bolsheviks believed this was the first blow of a worldwide socialist revolution. Food shortages made the situation dire in the capital, and social disorder reigned. Reed later recalled: The last month of the Kerensky regime was marked first by the falling off of the bread supply from 2 pounds a day to 1 pound, to half a pound, to a quarter of a pound, and, the final week, no bread at all. Holdups and crime increased to such an extent that you could hardly walk down the streets. The papers were full of it. Not only had the government broken down, but the municipal government had absolutely broken down.

Table of Contents

	Introduction	VII
	Introduction	7
	Preface	9
	Chronology	15
	Notes and Explanations	19
1	Background	29
2	The Coming Storm	42
3	On the Eve	63
4	The Fall of the Provisional Government	88
5	Plunging Ahead	117
6	The Committee for Salvation	145
7	The Revolutionary Front	164
8	Counter-Revolution	181
9	Victory	200
10	Moscow	219
11	The Conquest of Power	231
12	The Peasants' Congress	255
	Appendixes	273

Editorial Reviews

All revolutions are good; some revolutions are better than others; the Bolshevist revolution was of the best. This is Mr. Reed's underlying thesis, and there is no doubt that he writes of it brilliantly and entertainingly. -- Books of the Century; New York Times review, April 1919

New York Times Book Review

<:st> Cited in A classic account of the Russian Revolution of November 1917 by a Western journalist who witnessed it first hand, first published in 1919 and endorsed by Lenin. Reed, born in Portland, Oregon, and educated at Harvard University, outlines the background and causes of the revolution, and details the days leading up to the seizure of power by the Bolsheviks in Petrograd. His account includes meetings with Lenin, troops, and ordinary workers. Includes an appendix of documents, and notes on political parties, organizations, and parliamentary procedures. This new edition commemorates the 80th anniversary of the Russian Revolution, and includes a wealth of b&w photos from the period, plus a new introduction on Reed's life and the historical context of his account. Exciting reading for students and general readers, and a must for scholars of the period. No index. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

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