When you see a slim volume - this book is a mere 84 pages - dealing with three aspects of the vastly important and complicated Russian Revolution, you wouldn't expect much in the way of depth; indeed, you may even mistake it for a very basic schoolbook. But as we all know, appearances can be ever so slightly deceptive.

The text's introduction is more representative, and as far as openings go, Pipes' is concise and excellent. His credentials are laid out - a forty-year specialism in the revolution - the further reading established - those wanting detail should seek out the author's two longer volumes - and the structure justified: Pipes' interpretation of the Russian Revolution is at odds with recent revisionist works that look at social forces; his own conclusions focus on politics. You get all this in just over a page.

The book's main bulk is divided between three chapters, each dealing with one of "the three central problems of the Russian Revolution: the reasons for the collapse of tsarism, for the triumph of the Bolsheviks, and for the ascendancy of Stalin." (Pipes, Three Whys..., p. 2) The text moves along at an exhilarating pace, using modern and contemporary parallels, discussing a range of methodologies and always noting how the new arguments differ from others. There are many great insights to be gained, and not just by historians.

The swift look at how and why the tsarist state collapsed illuminates Russia, not just from 1900 - 1917, but also during the fall of communism, with which Pipes draws many valid comparisons. The chapter also incorporates some valuable historigraphical material, although the result of tightly packing a 27 page chapter with so much material is a very stripped down look at 1917 itself. In chapter 2 Pipes alters his parallels, turning to other European dictatorships for contrast, especially Italy under Mussolini, while arguing that the Bolshevik triumph was far from inevitable. The third and final chapter focuses on the 'battle' to succeed Stalin, and this section is almost entirely focused on internal Russian matters, with Pipes making his comparisons between Stalin, Trotsky and other possible Russian leaders.

Throughout Three Whys, Pipes' argument is convincing, albeit lacking the examples and deeply argued support a larger volume would have allowed, and his refusal to look for one sole solution commendable. His style is lively and interesting, and you can certainly tell the book was derived from a lecture: there are several 'can I point your attention to's'. Conversely, the author is too harsh in his critique of historians who use social causation, as he suggests that almost all adopted it from Communist official histories. Indeed, the only real problem in Pipes' tone and text - aside from the readers unquenched desire for more - is a hint of political judgement, which some may feel is only imaginary, and others may find a blemish on an otherwise sharp work.

If you're a student looking for key events and core arguments, you might find them in this book, but almost certainly not in the form you want (especially if you need anything other than the briefest account, or anything approaching a chronology); instead, Three Whys is a challenging examination of both Revolutionary Russia and modern historical thought. If you've never read anything about the Russian Revolution before you might get lost, but if you have Three Whys will certainly begin to alter your views, racing through a series of events you thought you knew, but leaving them all pointing in slightly different directions.

The content isn't an explanatory history, it's a corrective, something that will work on your current knowledge of Russian history to produce a better understanding. You'll need to have picked up the depth, the detail and the basic understanding from other, larger, volumes first - perhaps Pipes' own work, but just as easily others - and whether you agree with Pipes or not, this is an excellent short sharp shock.