Rating: 
Summary: A Fair and Interesting Biography
Review: This is probably the best biography of Lenin that I have read. It is interesting, easy to understand, very detailed, and is fair towards a man too often judged superficially. Lenin was one of the major figures of the 20th century, and he had a tremendous impact on the world. He was also far more complex than many of his biographers have made him out to be. He was neither a benevolent idealist (as Soviet propaganda would have one believe), nor was he a Stalin-style dictator (although they had some things in common). Instead, as Service's book reveals, Lenin was an ideologue who, while having the best interests of the country in mind, was willing to ruthlessly kill thousands of people to maintain his dictatorship. Service does an excellent job of depicting Lenin as a many sided individual, and he includes lots of background information on the personal side of his life that makes it easier for one to view him as a real person (also, it is often easy to see connections between his actions as a politican and his personal life). All in all - a great biography for anyone wishing to understand the true Lenin.
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