"The Shortest History of the Soviet Union" is a good reference book, especially if you're interested in the topic, but it wasn't as short as I was looking for which is totally my own fault.

This book is extremely helpful considering what is happening in geopolitics right now. I think the history of the Soviet Union can be very confusing and obviously it has an extremely long history so Sheila Fitzpatrick dumbing it down has been nice. I'm grateful for the better understanding.

Note: I received this book as an ARC from Columbia University Press.

In this book that author intends to give the reader a concise history of the Soviet Union starting from the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917 all the way up to the modern times. The author addresses the lives of the people who lived during this time and the struggles that they faced, all while tying these narratives into a global perspective on world events.

As it is touted as the shortest history, expect summarization and not analysis. This gives the reader a springboard into more detailed analysis in other works.

As someone with a limited understanding of the subject, I found it to be a pleasant and engaging read. It’s a great beginners guide to the social and political issues regarding the Soviet Union and its legacy in history.

The primary audience would be: historians and people interested in current events.

I'm someone who didn't really know about the Soviet Union, but wanted to become better informed. Although I am skeptical of authors who claim to condense large parts of history into short books, I think Fitzpatrick was successful. I feel a lot better informed about Russia and its past than I was before. I definitely recommend this book to anyone who needs a starting point into Soviet history.

The perfect overview of a massive, tumultuous history. At 248 pages from start through to the end of the index, Patrick's book lives up to its name and delivers on accessibility and content. The chapters are chronologically organized, written in succinct prose, and free of historiographical or theoretical tangents. My galley copy did not even have footnotes! (But more on this later).

Patrick's book is perfect for the undergraduate survey course in Soviet history (or for a Modern European history course) and for anyone who is new -- like me -- to the nuances and complications of Soviet history. The chapters are short enough to assign in lower level college courses and they lay out the chronological landscape very well; Soviet history can feel a bit overwhelming and Patrick eases the reader into it smoothly. The lack of footnotes here, normally a red flag in my view, was a positive characteristic. Undergraduate students sometimes feel overwhelmed at the footnotes, feeling unsure of where to direct their attention. The absence of citations allows readers to focus fully on the content at hand instead of worrying about tangential or other information.

As a historian of other regions I cannot comment on Patrick's content in depth; however, I will say that I am very appreciative of the very meticulous sources, references, and bibliography Patrick provides at the end.

On February 24, Russia invaded Ukraine. Two days before, Vladimir Putin gave his version of history during a speech in which he declared Ukraine "an inalienable part of our own history, culture and spiritual space." He blamed Lenin for the establishment of modern Ukraine, with further gifts of land by Stalin and Khrushchev. But rather than believe an unhinged thug, why not read an account of history not fabricated by someone trying to justify a disgusting and doomed war?

The book spans the years 1922 to 1991, but Fitzpatrick begins in 1980 in Brezhnev's USSR, when a conference of American Sovietologists confidently declared that the Soviet Union would not become a political democracy, nor would it collapse in the foreseeable future. They were wrong. Within ten years it was gone. The abruptness of this development reflects Fitzpatrick's view that there are few certainties throughout history (certainly in the Soviet Union, and perhaps in general):
"Historians’ narratives tend, by their nature, to make events seem inevitable…. But this is not my intention with this Shortest History. My view is that there are as few inevitabilities in human history as there are in the individual lives that compose it. Things could always have turned out differently but for accidental encounters and global cataclysms, deaths, divorces and pandemics...."
"The many ‘accidental’ changes of course and ‘spontaneous’ diversions along the way were simply irrelevant to this grand scheme, although they will play a large part in my Shortest History. They were not irrelevant to the life of people living in the Soviet Union, of course, and the gap between official rhetoric and lived experience was the stuff of the distinctively Soviet genre of political jokes (anekdoty) that bubbled under the surface as a constant, irreverent commentary. The contrast between ‘in principle’ (a stock Soviet phrase provoking immediate distrust, like ‘frankly’ in the West) and ‘in practice’ was one of the staples of the Soviet anekdot." (pp. 11, 13)

There are seven chapters in the book, and then a conclusion. As the title indicates, the book is about the Soviet Union, not the Tsarist Russia that preceded it, and it goes up to the fall of the Soviet Union. The conclusion is about post-USSR events. Fitzpatrick has an eye for detail and a wry sense of humor that shines through even in politics-heavy discussions, and it makes for an enjoyable read even for those who are not Russia-specialists. Definitely worth adding to the TBR.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to review a temporary digital ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

A great introduction to the history of the Soviet Union. Very easy to read and understand. Peaked my interest to look into some areas further. With all that is currently going on in the world, it's vital that we understand the Russian people better.

If you know nothing about the Soviet Union (1917-1991) this could be helpful to you. For anyone who has lived through the cold war they'll be surprised at some of the stories presented. Everything is cut down to the bare bones, and some of it is misleading or out and outright wrong.

This book reminds me of a "Cliff Note" or comic book version of the real story. It might be great for students looking for a fast summary of Soviet Union/Russia, but for anyone looking for real history, read a respected historian.

I think this book holds a lot of promise for its readers as an introduction to the Soviet Union's history. I had a great deal of trouble reading the advanced copy on my kindle because of formatting errors and random filler characters. I did manage to slog through and get a fair idea of how the books progressed, but I will need to revisit it again once its published to form a true opinion and see the images that are captioned throughout the text. Overall, I think this will prove to be a solid resource for providing a broad overview of the topic.

This is a great overview of the history of the Soviet Union. Since it is a short book, it functions more as a summary than an exhaustive account. The eras are organized by leader of the USSR at the time. Readers can focus on a time period of interest or read the whole book in a reasonably short period of time. It is concise, interesting, and well-presented. The author included illustrations of political cartoons from the Soviet period and photographs of key historical figures.
I especially enjoyed the conclusion, which summarized events since the USSR officially ceased to exist. This already needs updating, in light of current events, but this is a history of the USSR rather than the Russian Federation.
Recommended to anyone who is interested in learning the major points of Soviet history.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Fitzpatrick does a nice job giving a succinct historical narrative of the Soviet Union's history, from the Russian Revolution through its fall. I was a little ambivalent that such a detailed and complex history could be told in less than 200 pages, but she is able to pull it off well. The biggest strength of the book is Fitzpatrick's ability to deftly explain the Russian Revolution and the rise of socialism in Russia, both on the theoretical and political organizing side. It's a great place to start learning this history, and I would recommend to several students who want to learn more about it but don't want to be overwhelmed by academic scholarship.

The Shortest History of the Soviet Union by Sheila Fitzpatrick
Dr. Fitzpatrick, an Australian received her Ph.D. in Russian studies from Oxford in 1969. She has published numerous books on the Soviet Union as well as the people of the Soviet Union and Russia for over 50 years. To take on the topic of a “short’ History of the Soviet Union is I think courageous but perhaps useful. Although, I am not sure who is the intended audience. I am not a historian but someone who has read many books about Russia and the Soviet Union and its interaction with the West. I have not met Dr. Fitzpatrick nor would there be any reason to do so, but I know of her work and have read a few of her many books. So, who will a book of just over 200 pages on the history of the Soviet Union appeal to? Keep in mind, fiction or non-fiction books on the Soviet Union or its leaders tend to be door stoppers. I did learn a few things about the Soviet Union from this book. But the one area I wished it would have given more detail into was; why did independent countries join into the Soviet Union? Well, I will have to dig into other books now for this point. This book has very good maps and a very good bibliography for those who do want to learn more. I come back to the main point who should buy, invest the time and read this book. I would guess, it might be a 1st book for someone want to learn about the Soviet Union (especially after the Ukraine War that is occurring as I write), or perhaps Honor students in High School. All in all a very good 1st book for a novice on an important subject for all of us.