Of all of the books by American witnesses of the Russian Revolution, John Reed's Ten Days That Shook the World was and still is the best known. Even though Reed arrived in Russia in September 1917 and left in the spring of 1918, his enthusiastic account focuses on the ten key days of the revolution itself, bringing to life the...
Americans in Revolutionary Russia

Americans in Revolutionary Russia is focused on bringing back into print the observations and experiences of Americans who were witnesses to war and revolution in Russia between 1914 and 1921. There were numerous accounts by Americans from a variety of perspectives. These men and women offer a rich perspective on the tumultuous events that gripped Russia during this time. Most of these books have not been republished since they were first issued a hundred years ago. This series offers new editions of these works with an expert introduction, textual notation, and an index.
Series General Editors
William Benton Whisenhunt Professor of History
College of DuPage, USA
Norman Saul Professor Emeritus
University of Kansas, USA
Louise Bryant and her husband John Reed were among a relatively small group of Americans who participated in one of the most important events of the twentieth century, the Russian Revolution of 1917. As first-hand observers, they attended meetings of the revolutionaries, were present at the Winter Palace as it was under attack, and witnessed the surrender of the palace guards. Over...
Chicago native, political activist, and journalist Ernest Poole (1880-1950) provides a distinctive view of the Bolshevik Revolution in his work, The Village: Russian Impressions. This work is unusual in the library of American accounts of Revolutionary Russia because he addresses the world of the Russian peasants, far away from the revolutionary centers of Petrograd and Moscow. He associated with a...
Born in the White House in 1876, Julia Grant, granddaughter of President Ulysses S. Grant, had a life of adventure that included her marriage into the Cantacuzène family in 1900, and a move to Russia. Her book gives the reader a firsthand account of Russia during World War I and recounts her travels across the empire, where she saw the...