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Book Reviews/Comptes Rendus

Book Reviews/Comptes Rendus BOOK REVIEWS/COMPTES RENDUS Richard Abraham. Alexander Kerensky: The First Love of the Revolution. New York: Columbia University Press, 1987. xiii, 503 pp. $29.95. In writing about Kerensky, it is impossible not to be reminded of Shakespeare's dictum: "Some are born great, some achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust upon them." Kerensky falls into a blend of categories two and three ("greatness" being understood in terms of prominence). Richard Abraham has illuminated the man's career in an altogether exemplary fashion, though the accumulation of detail and cantaiding personalities certainly does not make for easy reading. On the other hand, to write history from the perspective of the defeated brings a novel insight to analysis. But first Kerensky the man: the current impression of his sudden emergence in 1917 from obscurity to prominence is here shown to be unfounded. Not the least valuable section of the book is the first six chapters which uncover the unknown Kercnsky of the pre-revolutionary period. They locate him squarely in the ranks of the radical intelligentsia involved in the practice of the law. Kerensky at first had some difficulty in entering the profession which he explained as follows: "I did not succeed at once http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png The Soviet and Post-Soviet Review Brill

Book Reviews/Comptes Rendus

The Soviet and Post-Soviet Review , Volume 14 (1): 11 – Jan 1, 1987
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Publisher
Brill
Copyright
Copyright © Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands
ISSN
1075-1262
eISSN
1876-3324
DOI
10.1163/187633287x00168
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

BOOK REVIEWS/COMPTES RENDUS Richard Abraham. Alexander Kerensky: The First Love of the Revolution. New York: Columbia University Press, 1987. xiii, 503 pp. $29.95. In writing about Kerensky, it is impossible not to be reminded of Shakespeare's dictum: "Some are born great, some achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust upon them." Kerensky falls into a blend of categories two and three ("greatness" being understood in terms of prominence). Richard Abraham has illuminated the man's career in an altogether exemplary fashion, though the accumulation of detail and cantaiding personalities certainly does not make for easy reading. On the other hand, to write history from the perspective of the defeated brings a novel insight to analysis. But first Kerensky the man: the current impression of his sudden emergence in 1917 from obscurity to prominence is here shown to be unfounded. Not the least valuable section of the book is the first six chapters which uncover the unknown Kercnsky of the pre-revolutionary period. They locate him squarely in the ranks of the radical intelligentsia involved in the practice of the law. Kerensky at first had some difficulty in entering the profession which he explained as follows: "I did not succeed at once

Journal

The Soviet and Post-Soviet Review – Brill

Published: Jan 1, 1987

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