I would love to read several historians of Russian/Soviet history discuss the most compelling/articulately argued/truest to the past biographies of Lenin. Though I am an academic in a related field, I have a personal interest in the early years of the Soviet Union and would like to develop a better understanding of the personalities involved in the Russian Revolution. I realize that the Cold War, during which many biographies of Soviet leaders were written and/or historians writing these works were trained, has colored this historiography. For example, during my undergrad I read The Unknown Lenin by Richard Pipes and I got the sense he was letting his ideology influence his argument a little too much for my liking. So where might a quasi-novice begin if he/she wanted to learn more about Lenin's life and work? Amazon.com reviews haven't been super helpful. Thanks!
Lenin is rather underserved by biographers. As a detour from the Service route, you might check out Beryl William's Lenin which is part of Longman/Routledge's Profiles in Power series, which are intended as introductions for students. Williams is much more balanced than Service and a good place to start when attempting to square the man with the the context of his times.
Lenin by Robert Service is probably a good one to start with, its a good read and he's a professor of Russian history at Oxford.