Detailed and focussed on the Volga countryside of Russia, 1917-. If Trotsky and Lenin suceeded in mounting a succesful revolution, why did they succeed in overcoming all opposition and securing the Soviet State? Through a detailed analysis of the tensions and pressures that ensue. A little narrow in focus for the first-time reader, it would be difficult to get hold of the fdetails firmly. The general reader in depth should try instead People's Tragedy by the same author. This retains the same readabilityy, but you need to be able to place in context some of the developments in the village and their correspondence with events in the Civil War to get all you can out of it.
Something most British BA students of history will want by them when writing essays to give unreproachable quotable stuff, and MA students in the area will want to have opinions upon.