The First Socialist Society: A History of the Soviet Union from Within

A British historian's well-paced, readable survey in which Soviet developments are covered "from within" in two senses: first, the coverage is of domestic affairs, not foreign relations; and second, the author attempts, with moderate success but without breaking any new ground, to convey the changes in society, in the lot of the people (peasants, city dwellers, soldiers, bureaucrats, intelligentsia), as well as the politics and decisions at the top. Written for the student and general reader and dispensing with the scholarly apparatus, the book is solidly based on Soviet source material and the recent research of Western scholars.