Product Description

Few political figures of the twentieth century have aroused as much passion and controversy as the Russian Revolutionary Leon Trotsky. Trotsky's extraordinary life and extensive writings have left and indelible mark on revolutionary conscience; and yet there was at one time a danger that his name would disappear altogether from history. Isaac Deutscher's magisterial three-volume biography was the first major publication to counter the powerful Stalinist propaganda machine, and in this definitive work Trotsky emerges as the most heroic, and ultimately tragic, character of the Russian Revolution. This second volume of the trilogy, first published in 1959, is a self-contained account of the great struggle between Stalin and Trotsky that followed the end of the civil war in Russia in 1921 and the death of Lenin. From the narrative of Trotsky's uncompromising opposition to Stalin's policies emerge character studies of the important Soviet leaders; a brilliant portrait of Trotsky the man of ideas, the Marxist philosopher and the literary critic; and a new assessment of the causes of defeat which led to his expulsion from the part, his exile, and his 1929 banishment from Russia.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #78583 in Books
• Published on: 2003-11-25
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 444 pages

Review
"In the 1930s, Trotsky, with a handful of followers, attempted to block the path of Stalin's relentless hurricane of betrayal and murder. His epic defence of the soul of the Revolution against its bureaucratic executioners was a torchlight in the storm. In one of the very greatest modern biographies, Isaac Deutscher redeems the legacy of this astonishing revolutionary and humanist thinker." -- Mike Davis "This is the critical voice the velvet revolution faded out. The republication of Deutscher's classic trilogy is good news for a new generation who want to know what went wrong with communist-style socialism." -- Sheila Rowbotham ""He has told the story more accurately and with fuller detail than ever before. His book is compulsory reading for anyone interested in the history of Soviet Russia and of international communism."" -- A.J.P. Taylor ""Mr. Deutscher is an exceedingly vivid writer with a sense of style, and a warm understanding sympathy for his hero; this makes him a first rate biographer."" -- Times Literary Supplement ""The three volumes of Deutscher's life of Trotsky ... were for me the most exciting reading of the year. Surely this must be counted among the greatest biographies in the English language."" -- Graham Greene

About the Author
Isaac Deutscher was born in 1907 near Krakow and joined the Polish Communist Party in 1926. After his expulsion in 1932, he maintained his opposition to the general drift of Comintern policy in the 1930s. He moved to London in 1939 and continued his journalistic activity until 1946, devoting the rest of his life to historical research and the writing of books and essays. His prolific output includes Stalin and The Unfinished Revolution. Isaac Deutscher died in 1967.

Customer Reviews

One of the greatest biographies of the 20th Century
The late great Isaac Deutscher continues his epic Biography of the greatest Marxist Revolutionary of the age of revolutions.
This section chronicles the Decline and fall of Trotsky after his success in the Civil war, and in doing so charts the degeneration of the Soviet Socialist Revolution. For those willing to understand the tragedy of the Russian Revolution, here is definatly the place to start.
In this respect the volume stands alone quite well, but it is probably better to read it with the other two, (and Deutschers books on Stalin and Lenin) for a more rounded panoramic picture.
Also highly reccomended for anyone who has read Trotsky's auto-biography and wants to fill in the gaps.