tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7858950.post5728801858204022202..comments2023-05-31T14:16:36.022+03:00Comments on Otto's Random Thoughts: Textbook AssignmentsJ. Otto Pohlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07457089758142264049noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7858950.post-34735448164592603672011-11-07T02:12:18.280+03:002011-11-07T02:12:18.280+03:00Thank you for the recommendation!Thank you for the recommendation!Pub Editorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16321009243784920180noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7858950.post-24383847191210130262011-11-04T17:26:30.523+03:002011-11-04T17:26:30.523+03:00Snyder does not deal much with Lenin and that is a...Snyder does not deal much with Lenin and that is a weakness. He also is less complete in some other ways than Gellately. The lack of coverage of Lenin is one of the reasons that the Snyder is 200 pages shorter. Since this is a 400 level class I prefer to assign whole books if they are applicable. <br /><br />As far as Trotsky biographies are concerned you might want to try the one by the late Dmitri Volkogonov. It has been translated into English and is available in tradeback in the US. I have not read it, but I liked his biography of Stalin. Also I generally like the work of Service, so I would probably just ignore the negative review. A lot of people have axes to grind.J. Otto Pohlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07457089758142264049noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7858950.post-36548551115986594032011-11-04T05:18:40.366+03:002011-11-04T05:18:40.366+03:00As an aside, can you recommend a good biography of...As an aside, can you recommend a good biography of Trotsky? I'm not especially interested in Isaac Deutscher's hagiography. I was planning to read Robert Service's one-volume bio (2009), but Bertrand Patenaude's sharp and critical review of Service's book put me off that course. Any suggestions?Pub Editorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16321009243784920180noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7858950.post-33303858738009806692011-11-04T05:11:38.769+03:002011-11-04T05:11:38.769+03:00I could be wrong, but it looks like Snyder doesn&#...I could be wrong, but it looks like Snyder doesn't deal as much with Lenin. In that case, I would stick with Gellately. (Full disclosure: I have not read either book.)<br /><br />Is there any way you could use a portion of Snyder's book? Does Snyder have any articles? Are there any really good book reviews of Snyder's book?Pub Editorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16321009243784920180noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7858950.post-11085012185183339852011-11-03T16:30:11.210+03:002011-11-03T16:30:11.210+03:00Thanks Susan:
I don't think this will work be...Thanks Susan:<br /><br />I don't think this will work because my feeling is that if it is a choice between the two then they will decide based solely on which book is shorter. The Snyder book is about 200 pages shorter than the Gellately. That would mean everybody choosing the Snyder in order to avoid an extra 200 pages of reading. I don't think length alone is a good criteria for selecting class texts.J. Otto Pohlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07457089758142264049noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7858950.post-19095020531927851622011-11-03T14:42:51.336+03:002011-11-03T14:42:51.336+03:00Why don't you give the students the choice? Th...Why don't you give the students the choice? The motivation to read/learn is always higher if you feel you have had some say in what you are learning.<br /><br />It may mean you will also have to give them a choice in regard to exam/assignments (if these are based around the texts) but is this a problem? The students are likely to talk amongst themselves about the texts so that some may voluntarily read both.Susan Barneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07673626395112361592noreply@blogger.com