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I really enjoyed Mr. Figes book on the Russian Revolution because his writing style is wonderfully accessible and compassionate. Unfortunately it has been accu

I really enjoyed Mr. Figes book on the Russian Revolution because his writing style is wonderfully accessible and compassionate. Unfortunately it has been accused of having many pages of plagiarized content and poor sourcing. Which has made me weary of his writings and commentary. I really hate to color a person with a single brush but my impression is that the problems were significant. Either error on its own would be forgivable but combining plagiarism and inaccurate sourcing points to a sloppiness with history in an effort to create narrative. To me, a historian most break away from narrative and commit to rigor.

topranks 9y ago
Damn your first line had me ready to go buy the man's books.... I yearn for historical writing with a good narrative, but you're 100% right, if you need to sacrifice the flow or the facts, sacrifice the flow.
- benbreen 9y ago
  I really enjoyed the first volume of Kotkin’s Stalin biography, if you’re looking for something in a similar vein: https://www.amazon.com/Stalin-Paradoxes-1878-1928-Stephen-Kotkin/dp/0143127861 https://www.amazon.com/Stalin-Paradoxes-1878-1928-Stephen-Ko...