An impassioned firsthand account of the Russian Revolution An American journalist and revolutionary writer John Reed became a close friend of Lenin and was an eyewitness to the 1917 revolution in Russia Ten Days That Shook the World is Reed s extraordinary record of that event Writing in the first flush of revolutionary enthusiasm he gives a gripping account of the events in Petrograd in November 1917 when Lenin and the Bolsheviks finally seized power Containing verbatim reports both of speeches by leaders and of the chance comments of bystanders and set against an idealized backdrop of soldiers sailors peasants and the proletariat uniting to throw off oppression Reed s account is the product of passionate involvement and remains an unsurpassed classic of reporting For more than seventy years Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English speaking world With more than 1 700 titles Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors as well as up to date translations by award winning translators An impassioned firsthand account of the Russian Revolution which celebrates its 100th anniversary in March 2017 An American journalist and revolutionary writer John Reed became a close friend of Lenin and was an eyewitness to the 1917 revolution in Russia Ten Days That Shook the World is Reed s extraordinary record of that event Writing in the first flush of revolutionary enthusiasm he gives a gripping account of the events in Petrograd in November 1917 when Lenin and the Bolsheviks finally seized power Containing verbatim reports both of speeches by leaders and of the chance comments of bystanders and set against an idealized backdrop of soldiers sailors peasants and the proletariat uniting to throw off oppression, Reed´s account is the product of passionate involvement and remains an unsurpassed classic of reporting.