Lenin is a colossal figure whose influence on twentieth-century history cannot be underestimated. Robert Service has written a calmly authoritative biography on this seemingly unknowable figure. Making use of recently opened archives, he has been able to piece together the private as well as the public life, giving the first complete picture of Lenin. This biography simultaneously provides an account of one of the greatest turning points in modern history. Through the prism of Lenin's career, Service examines events such as the October Revolution and the ideas of Marxism-Leninism, the one-party state, economic modernisation, dictatorship, and the politics of inter-war Europe. In discovering the origins of the USSR, he casts light on the nature of the state and society which Lenin left behind and which have not entirely disappeared after the collapse of the Soviet regime in 1991. 'Immensely scholarly but also vivid and readable. This is a splendid book, much the best that I have ever read about Lenin ...I was overwhelmed by the power and vividness of this portrait' - Dominic Lieven, "Sunday Telegraph". 'He has managed skilfully to depict the surreal life of an obsessive, brilliant and stubborn individual' - "Guardian". 'Lenin's life was politics, but Service has succeeded in keeping Lenin the man in focus throughout ...This book deserves a place among the best studies of one of the most fascinating figures in modern history' - Harold Shukman, "The Times".

列宁著作单行本

《国家与革命》是列宁对马克思主义国家学说的发展作出的重大贡献。列宁在书中阐述的关于无产阶级革命和无产阶级专政的基本原理，不仅教育了俄国布尔什维克党和广大劳动群众，为他们创建第一个社会主义国家提供了强大的思想武器，而且也对各国无产阶级政党支部结合本国个体实际解决本国的革命问题具有指志意义。十月革命后，列宁总结俄国无产阶级专政和社会主义建设的实践经验，作出新的理论概括，进一步发展了《国家与革命》一书中的思想。

本书是第一部重新全面解读列宁主义的意识形态的著作，是作者多年潜心研究的理论成果。对于列宁主义的起源与发展、列宁主义的内容以及作为一种具有感召力的思想体系所具有的优点与缺点的原因等诸多问题，它向传统的学术判断发起了多方面的挑战。 尼尔·哈丁揭示了作为一种意识形态的列宁主义是如何作为对第一次世界大战的回应而脱颖而出的，并且社会民主党支持本国战争努力的这种背叛，在革命的马克思主义者看来又意味着什么。他提出，列宁主义的经济、政治甚至哲学在1914－1917年间都迅速地理论化了，并因而具有战争经历特点的深远影响。列宁主义对资本主义文明的确清楚地表达了一种复杂而连贯的批判，对各种选民都具有强大的吸引力，但列宁主义本身深受时代的束缚，这注定会制约它的适应能力。与列宁主义相辅相成的历史形而上学和科学形而上学对于其行动的信心和自信来说是内在的，如同它内在地轻视民主实践和宽容一样。 本书既是对列宁主义的一种阐释，也是对当代共产主义政治的重要性的一种批判。
“一部学识渊博、令人振奋、通俗易懂、给人印象极其深刻的作品，我相信它将成为学生的经典著作，在课堂内外的世界都会引发许多争论。” ――理查德·萨克瓦