Far-left political ideologies and movements Books

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Book Synopsis Historians of immigration and ethnicity in the United States have typically devoted little attention to Greek Americans, while popular narratives depict them as indifferent or hostile to political and social radicalism. From acclaimed historian Kostis Karpozilos, Red America provides an alternative narrative of the Greek American experience. Focusing on the history of the Greek American Left from the beginning of the twentieth century to the Cold War, this volume uncovers the threads that bound notions of radical social change to everyday immigrant life, tracing ethnic radicalism from the boundaries of a specific community to the epicenter of American social and political history.Table of Contents Acknowledgments Introduction Chapter 1. Radicals of Two Worlds Workers of the World Workers of the World, Unite! Tsars, Slaves, and American Flags Radical Diaspora Organōsis: Socialism as Education Ē Phonē tou Ergatou: Waiting for the Revolution Great Expectations, Lost Illusions Chapter 2. Americanizing Communism “Be American!” Diasporic Communism Party Life “Taxisyneidēsia”: Greek-American Class Consciousness Organizing the Unorganizable Fur Workers or Greek Fur Workers? Non-Revolutionary Times Chapter 3. Crisis and Revolution The Arthritis Doctrine Community Troubles Drachmas, Dollars, and Bank Panics Hungry Revolutionaries: The Unemployed Councils Workers’ Mutual Aid Soviet America The New Deal The Great Turmoil Chapter 4. Turmoil and Compromise Red, American and Greek Flags The Greek-American Popular Front Working-Class Stories Furs: A Greek-American story A Bitter End Chapter 5. Planning the Future America Needs Me, I Need America Visions of a New World Remnants of the “Old World” Double Ambassadors The Unpredictability of History Chapter 6. Cold War Nation The Great Transition Liberals in Crisis Under Surveillance Anticommunist International Greek-American Anticommunism The Last Page Conclusion Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisNo other art movement has so profoundly influenced radical politics as the Situationist International. But beyond the clichés about its purported leader Guy Debord, the "society of the spectacle," détournement and dérive, lies a more complex story about key historical shifts in the composition of capital, work, labor, art, and revolutionary theory during the 1950s and 60s.With and Against reframes the history of the Situationist International as a struggle to come to terms with the then-emerging ideologies of cybernetics and automation. Through each of the book's four chapters, Dominique Routhier dissects Situationist pamphlets, documents, artworks, and objects that refract elements of a "cybernetic hypothesis": the theoretically hyperbolic belief that technological progress, computers and automation make class struggle and the idea of revolution obsolete. With equal attention to aesthetic detail and to the broader contours of political economy, this book serves as a critical intervention in art history as well a call to reconsider, more broadly, the contemporary lessons of the most political of all artistic avantgardes.Trade ReviewEvincing a breathtaking command of the broader historical context that informed the rise of the Situationist International during the age of automation and the birth of cybernetics, Dominique Routhier's innovative analysis transcends the discipline of art history, allowing us to link early 20thcentury avant-garde struggles against the alienated separation of art and labour with all the nuances of the SI imperative. Given our anxieties today about the impact of Artificial Intelligence on labour and art, Routhier's study could not be more timely. -- Abigail Susik, Willamette University, author of Surrealist Sabotage and the War on WorkThe situationists once described themselves as racing against the police for control of the technologies of modern conditioning. In With and Against, Dominique Routhier provides us with a stunningly insightful commentary on that race's progress over the course of the 1950s and '60s, from the rooftop of Le Corbusier's apartment block in Marseille to the classrooms of Nanterre's university. Drawing our attention to the SI's previously neglected struggle over the postwar world's latest "science of control and communications," cybernetics, he argues persuasively that this last avant-garde of the 20th century was precociously engaged with a key technology of the 21st. With and Against is a vital contribution, not only to our understanding of the SI, but also of our own moment as it has been shaped by the "cybernetic hypothesis." -- Tom McDonough, Professor of Art History at Binghamton University, Author of "The Beautiful Language of My Century": Reinventing the Language of Contestation in Postwar France, 1945–1968Dominique Routhier has written a hugely important work of historical retrieval combining theoretical finesse with important archival findings supplying us with a new understanding of the Situationists' anti-artistic and anti-political endeavor. With and Against maps the emergence of the cybernetic paradigm and a whole new ensemble of forms of domination the Situationists fought fiercely against. These forms of domination have only been further augmented and we have unfinished revolutionary business to do. Routhier's book is both a pivotal contribution to the historical analysis of the Situationist project as well as a necessary tool in the coming struggles against an ever-refined architecture of separation. -- Mikkel Bolt Rasmussen, Professor of Political Aesthetics, University of CopenhagenRouthier's freshly researched account of the beginnings and elaboration of the SI across Europe offers detailed insight at amolecular level into the last and most radical iteration of the avant-garde, setting it into dialectical relation with the emergence of a technocratic society of control. Attending to the co emergence of automation and computing as forms of capitalist social subsumption, With and Against proposes a sense of what motivated the SI's specific gestures, tactics and language. This is no simple social context, but a historicist theory of forms of real resistance against the runaway autonomy and indifference of capital to social relations in a proto digitalized world hostile to human human freedom. -- Jaleh Mansoor, University of British Columbia, author of Marshall Plan Modernism: Italian Postwar Abstraction and the Beginnings of Autonomia, published by Duke University Press (September 2016)Table of ContentsIntroduction1 Refusal and Withdrawal: Histoire marseillaise2 Secret Fascination: Unitary Urbanism3 With and Against: Fin de Copenhague4 Rage Against the Machine: L'Opération robot and May '68Conclusion

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Book Synopsis Countless studies have assessed the dramatic reforms of Mikhail Gorbachev, but their analysis of the impact on European communism has focused overwhelmingly on the Soviet Union and Eastern bloc nations. This ambitious collection takes a much broader view, reconstructing and evaluating the historical trajectories of glasnost and perestroika on both sides of the Iron Curtain. Moving beyond domestic politics and foreign relations narrowly defined, the research gathered here constitutes a transnational survey of these reforms’ collective impact, showing how they were variably received and implemented, and how they shaped the prospects for “proletarian internationalism” in diverse political contexts.Trade Review “Written by well-known historians and political scientists, the book addresses an underexplored topic in detail and therefore will be of interest to specialists of communism, party politics, and the political Left in Europe.” • Choice “…a generally strong…and substantial collective contribution to the historiography of Communism.” • H-Diplo “Perestroika and the Party gives a comprehensive look at how different national parties reacted to Mikhail Gorbachev’s program of reform. Its case studies are fascinatingly detailed and make useful additions to the larger historical literature.” • Edward Cohn, Grinnell CollegeTable of Contents Introduction: Perestroika or about the Demise of the Communist World? Francesco Di Palma PART I: EASTERN EUROPE Chapter 1. The Impact of Perestroika and Glasnost on the CPSU's Stance toward the “Fraternal Parties” in the Eastern Bloc Peter Ruggenthaler Chapter 2. Soviet Society, Perestroika, and the End of the USSR Mark Kramer Chapter 3. Perestroika Made in Hungary? The HSWP’s Approach to the Soviet Reform of the Late-1980s Tamás Péter Baranyi Chapter 4. Yugoslavia and Perestroika 1985-1991: Between Hope and Disappointment Petar Dragišić Chapter 5. The Polish United Workers Party and Perestroika Wanda Jarząbek Chapter 6. SED and Perestroika: Perceptions and Reactions Hermann Wentker Chapter 7. Between External Constraint and Internal Crackdown: Romania’s Non-Reaction to Soviet Perestroika Stefano Bottoni PART II: WESTERN EUROPE Chapter 8. Parallel Destinies: The Italian Communist Party and Perestroika Aldo Agosti Chapter 9. “I felt as if I was faced with a French Honecker”: The French Communist Party Confronted with a World that was Falling Apart (1985-1991) Dominique Andolfatto Chapter 10. A Dialogue of the Deaf: The CPGB and the SED during the Gorbachev Era (1985-1990) Stefan Berger and Norman LaPorte Chapter 11. Premature Perestroika: The Dutch Communist Party and Gorbachev Gerrit Voerman Chapter 12. The Perestroika and the Greek Left Andreas Stergiou Chapter 13. The Austrian Communists and Perestroika Maximilian Graf Chapter 14. The Spanish Communist Party and Perestroika Walther L. Bernecker Afterword: Gorbachev and the End of International Communism Silvio Pons Index

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Book SynopsisVolume 40 explores themes related to various trajectories of declining and destructive capitalism within the framework of contemporary Marxism. Social scientists from ten countries at various stages of their careers work to strengthen Marxism, applying methods to the interpretation and, above all, the transformation of the world.

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Book SynopsisWalter Benjamin was fascinated by the impact of new technology on culture, an interest that extended beyond his renowned critical essays. From 1927 to '33, he wrote and presented something in the region of eighty broadcasts using the new medium of radio. Radio Benjamin gathers the surviving transcripts, which appear here for the first time in English. This eclectic collection demonstrates the range of Benjamin's thinking and his enthusiasm for popular sensibilities. His celebrated "Enlightenment for Children" youth programs, his plays, readings, book reviews, and fiction reveal Benjamin in a creative, rather than critical, mode. They flesh out ideas elucidated in his essays, some of which are also represented here, where they cover topics as varied as getting a raise and the history of natural disasters, subjects chosen for broad appeal and examined with passion and acuity.Delightful and incisive, this is Walter Benjamin channeling his sophisticated thinking to a wide audience, allowing us to benefit from a new voice for one of the twentieth century's most respected thinkers.Trade ReviewA complex and brilliant writer. -- JM CoetzeeWalter Benjamin was one of the unclassifiable ones... whose work neither fits the existing order nor introduces a new genre. -- Hannah ArendtBenjamin buckled himself to the task of revolutionary transformation. his life and work speak challengingly to us all. -- Terry EagletonThere has been no more original, no more serious critic and reader in our time. -- George SteinerHe drew, from the obscure disdained German baroque, elements of the modern sensibility: the taste for allegory, surrealist shock effects, discontinuous utterance, a sense of historical catastrophe. -- Susan SontagWalter Benjamin is the most important German aesthetician and literary critic of the twentieth century. * Sunday Times *Radio Benjamin could hardly be bettered... There really is no parallel for what Benjamin did in these talks. Imagine a particularly engaging episode of Melvyn Bragg's In Our Time narrated by Alan Bennett - if Bennett were more profoundly steeped in Marx and politically engaged by the revolutionary potential of the medium of radio - and you have something of their allure. -- Stuart JeffriesThis collection shows a lighter - though entirely characteristic - side to this most influential of 20th-century thinkers. -- Jonathan Gibbs * Independent *Walter Benjamin, one of the first theorists to ponder the social impact of mass media [...] was equally entranced by the way thin air mysteriously transmits radio waves. In 1927, five years before he exiled himself from Germany in advance of the Nazi putsch, Benjamin began a series of experimental broadcasts on this new medium. -- Peter Conrad * Observer *

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Book SynopsisDuring the 1960s and 1970s, Workerism and Autonomia were prominent Marxist currents. However, it is rarely acknowledged that these movements inspired many visual artists such as the members of Archizoom, Gordon Matta-Clark and Gianfranco Baruchello. This book focuses on the aesthetic and cultural discourse developed by three generations of militants (including Mario Tronti, Antonio Negri, Bifo and Silvia Federici), and how it was appropriated by artists, architects, graphic designers and architectural historians such as Manfredo Tafuri. Images of Class signposts key moments of this dialogue, ranging from the drawings published on classe operaia to Potere Operaio's exhibition in Paris, the Metropolitan Indians' zines, a feminist art collective who adhered to the Wages for Housework Campaign, and the N group's experiments with Gestalt theory. Featuring more than 140 images of artworks, many published here for the first time, this volume provides an original perspective on post-war Italian culture and new insights into some of the most influential Marxist movements of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries worldwide.Trade ReviewA tremendous achievement: through critically exploring what it terms "visual practices and communicative strategies", Images of Class uncovers crucial, hitherto ignored dimensions of the workerist adventure. -- Steve Wright, author of Storming Heaven Class Composition and Struggle in Italian Autonomist MarxismThe 1970s in Italy were a decade of social conflicts and intense cultural and aesthetic innovation, but only now, thanks to the Galimberti's book we can have a glimpse of the visual dimension of the movement of Autonomia and of the cultural field that is generally known as "operaismo". -- Franco "Bifo" BerardiMasterful in sweep and molecular in detail, Jacopo Galimberti's volume draws upon thorough archival work and a nuanced understanding of Italy's post-war extraparliamentary left. As the book's incisive case studies reveal, the period's proliferating images of class were matched by an assault upon established classes of imagery. The defiance of capitalist wage relations found an equivalent not merely in the iconography of social contestation, but new formats and forums, new means of circulation and dissemination, from architectural interventions to graphic novels to ephemera which refused institutionalization. Galimberti shows us a time and place when the collective "class vernacular" of operaismo and autonomia had not yet ceded to something else. We can still rail against that something else, in Italy and elsewhere: urban gentrification, critical grandstanding, a bloated art market, the aesthetic apotheosis of the individual. But this book helps us remember what came first and what might, one day, come again. -- Ara H Merjian, New York UniversityRich in innovative insights, Images of Class proposes a fresh approach to a tumultuous historical period that generated original political theories and social movements. This inspiring and beautiful volume is a must-read. -- Leopoldina Fortunati, author of The Arcane of ReproductionA very significant contribution in the English language to the historicization of operaismo...Images of Class performs novel research on the development of these Marxian and dissident tendencies alongside visual, literary, and architectural production and theory. -- Andreas Petrossiants * Social Text *

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Book SynopsisSince Plato, philosophers have dreamed of establishing a rational state ruled through the power of language. In this radical and disturbing account of Soviet philosophy, Boris Groys argues that communism shares that dream and is best understood as an attempt to replace financial with linguistic bonds as the cement uniting society. The transformative power of language, the medium of equality, is the key to any new communist revolution.Trade ReviewOne of the most astute commentators on the art scene today. * New Left Review *Groys combines revelatory analysis with philosophical questions that go to the heart of cultural production today. -- Iwona BlazwickA timely intervention in present debates about the legacy of communism [and] a provocative addition to Groys' brilliantly paradoxical body of work. * Art Review *Groys has claimed a defining role in the reception of the Russian avant-garde ... The Communist Postscript presents Groys's attempt to advocate the communist idea against its own historic assumptions. * Radical Philosophy *

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Book SynopsisAfter being widely rejected in the late 20th century the work of Karl Marx is now being reassessed by many theorists and activists. Karl Marx, Anthropologist explores how this most influential of modern thinkers is still highly relevant for Anthropology today. Marx was profoundly influenced by critical Enlightenment thought. He believed that humans were social individuals that simultaneously satisfied and forged their needs in the contexts of historically particular social relations and created cultures. Marx continually refined the empirical, philosophical, and practical dimensions of his anthropology throughout his lifetime.Assessing key concepts, from the differences between class-based and classless societies to the roles of exploitation, alienation and domination in the making of social individuals, Karl Marx, Anthropologist is an essential guide to Marx's anthropological thought for the 21st century.Trade Review"This is a timely reminder of both the Enlightenment background and holistic nature of Marx'' anthropology, which concerns not merely understanding classical industrial capitalism but also such diverse issues as the modern age of empire, human origins and non-Western political systems. - Dr Nikolai Ssorin-Chaikov, University of Cambridge Evenhanded and clearly written, this book presents a direct engagement and extended dialogue with Karl Marx's works of social theory over time. Valuable for students, especially those unfamiliar with his writings. - J. D. Smith, CHOICE magazine"Table of ContentsPreface Chronology Introduction Polemics, Caveats, and Standpoints Organization of the Book Ch. 1 The Enlightenment and Anthropology Early Enlightenment Thought The World Historicized The New Anthropology of the Enlightenment Rousseau's Historical-Dialectical Anthropology The Scottish Historical Philosophers The Institutionalization of Anthropology Kant's Pragmatic Anthropology Herder's Historical-Dialectical Anthropology Göttingen: Beyond "Anthropology for Doctors and Philosophers"Hegel's Critical-Historical Anthropology Ch.2 Marx's Anthropology What are Human Beings? The Corporeal Organization of Human Beings "Ensembles of Social Relations" and Human Beings as Social Individuals History Truth and Praxis Ch. 3 Human Natural Beings Charles Darwin and the Development of Modern Evolutionary Theory Darwin's Metaphors and Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection The Problems of Variation and Inheritance The Modern Synthesis and Beyond Human Natural Beings: Bodies That Walk, Talk, Make Tools,and Have Culture Engels's "The Part Played by Labor in the Transition from Ape to Man" Fossils and Proteins Demography and Population Structure Marx on the Naturalization of Social Inequality Ch. 4 Anthropology, History, and Social Formation Marx's Historical-Dialectical Conceptual Framework Pre-Capitalist Modes of Production Primitive Communism The Asiatic Mode of Production and the Slavonic Transition The Ancient Mode of Production The Germanic Mode of Production The Feudal Mode of Production Societies and Cultures Pre-Capitalist Societies: Limited, Local, and Vital Human History Is Messy Ch. 5 Capitalism and the Anthropology of the Modern World The Transition to Capitalism and its Development The Articulation of Modes of Production Property, Power, and Capitalist States Ch. 6 Anthropology for the Twenty-First Century Social Relations and the Formation of Social Individuals Alienation Domination, Exploitation, and Forms of Social Hierarchy Resistance and Protest Anthropology: "The Study of People in Crisis by People in Crisis"Notes Bibliography

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Book SynopsisFew island nations have stirred the soul like Cuba. From Hemingway’s intoxicating Havana to Ry Cooder’s Buena Vista Social Club, outsiders have persistently been fascinated by Cuba for its music (jazz to rumba), its rich literature, its art and dance (danzón to mambo) and perhaps above all for its bold experiment of a socialist revolution in action. Antoni Kapcia shows how the thaw in relations between Cuba and the USA now makes a fresh appraisal of the country and its modern history essential. He authoritatively explores the ‘essence’ of the Cuban revolution, revealing it to be a maverick phenomenon tied not so much to socialism or Communism for their own sakes but instead to an idealistic vision of postcolonial nationalism. Reassessing the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, the author examines the central personalities: not just the famous trio of Che Guevara, Fidel and Raúl Castro in shaping the ideas of the revolution but, still further back, the visionary ideology of José Martí. Kapcia’s book reflects on the future of the revolution as Raúl and his government begin to cede power to a new generation.Trade ReviewAs with all the work that Antoni Kapcia has produced on Cuba “A Short History of the Cuban Revolution. Revolution, Power, Authority and the State” is excellent, superbly researched and highly nuanced in its approach. Kapcia both charts Cuban history from the colonial period, while also addressing the enduring nature of the Cuban Revolution. In doing this Kapcia contests many long-held assumptions concerning the Cuban Revolution and expertly examines the myriad of actors within the Cuban decision-making process with its vertical structures of power, participation and governance and horizontal processes of negotiation and consultation. Kapcia also examines the evolution of the word “revolution” within Cuba and its significance for Cuban history since January 1959. In sum, this work is essential reading for anyone with an interest in Cuba. * Mervyn Bain, Professor of International Relations, University of Aberdeen, UK *

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Book SynopsisThe "structuralist" theories of power show that the subject is produced and reproduced by the investment of power: but how then can we think of the subject's resistance to power? Based on this fundamental question, Power and Resistance interprets critically the (post-)structuralist theory of power and resistance, i.e., the theories of Foucault, Deleuze/Guattari, Derrida and Althusser. It analyses also the mechanism of power and the strategies of resistance in the era of neoliberalism. This meticulous analysis that completely renewed the theory of power is already published in French, Japanese, and Korean with success.Trade ReviewConceptually dense and philosophically masterful, Yoshiyuki Sato's Power and Resistance ranges widely across the work of Foucault, Deleuze, Derrida, and Althusser (with Lacan as the 'silent partner' of the text), in pursuit of how the structuralist (non)dialectic of power and resistance comes to be underpinned by this aporetic subject that must be both the product of the social structure, yet also that which furnishes the force of resistance to its reproduction, demonstrating precisely that the "thought of the subject" is nothing other than a theory of how the 'outside' relates to the interiority of the structure. Refusing the now-widespread reception of post-68 French thought as having 'done away with' the category of the subject, Sato shows ably and with real mastery of the literature, why we must instead consider these thinkers to be precisely 'theoreticians of the subject'. In our current conceptual conjuncture, this important book has reemerged in English after its French and Japanese editions to provide the thought of a transformation beyond that dialectic of subjection and resistance which merely reinforces the social closure, giving proof positive for the politicality and living force of this set of figures so crucial to twentieth century thought. -- Gavin WalkerThe author is to be commended for his ability to pose problems clearly, for his very thorough and convincing argument, and for his enlightening and stimulating reading of the main authors he discusses, namely: Freud, Lacan, Foucault, Deleuze and Guattari, Derrida, and finally Althusser. -- Jacques-Louis Lantoine * Acta fabula *Sato has taken on the impressive task of isolating, with analytical precision, the sources of resistance within generally conceived structuralist theory. His thesis offers a masterful and erudite reading of Foucault, Freud, Deleuze, Lacan, Derrida, and Althusser, among others. His explanation of a sample of texts by these authors is quite illuminating. Indeed, Sato succeeds in showing that the theory of the subject, if understood in its relation to a constitutive death drive, carries with it the possibility of resisting the cruelty of the law and providing the basis for a general theory of resistance. He further shows that structuralism should not be seen as a 'static' description of social and linguistic structures, and that what is needed is rather a diachronic view of structures that takes into account - without domesticating - the forces of contingency. Starting from the death drive and the contingency of structures, and through an argument that is as erudite as it is enlightening, Sato constructs an explanation of resistance in structuralism (but also for it and its future), thus reviving a debate that has unfortunately been bogged down for some time in clichés and misconceptions. -- Judith ButlerWith unusual clarity, Yoshiyuki Sato reconstructs the relations of appropriation, exclusion and interaction that allow us to speak of a structuralist moment defined by the conjunction of Foucault, Deleuze, Derrida and Althusser. He explores the encounters that took place around the notion of power and, with it, the forms of its internalization: the subject, subjection and subjectivity. Sato shows us the multiple dialogues that took place between these very different thinkers, not in spite of their divergent lexicons, but because of them, and how the questions surrounding power led to an examination of the concept of resistance and its functions in fields as diverse as physics, biology, psychoanalysis and politics. Sato's rigor, his refusal to blur the distinctions between the philosophers in question and his insistence on staying close to their actual texts, sets this study apart from the common interpretations of structuralism and the structuralist moment. It provides a new foundation for the study of French philosophy of the sixties and seventies. -- Warren MontagSato's book brilliantly testifies to the acuteness, depth and originality of the readings of French philosophy of the twentieth century which are carried out today by young foreign philosophers, especially Japanese. Through them is brought a new freshness, a re-perspective and re-questioning, and therefore these are the conditions for a relaunch of previously passionate debates which reaches us at the opportune moment. As a participant, along with some others, in these debates in which I - quite wrongly - believed to have travelled all avenues, it is with great pleasure that I welcome this critical return and this relaunch. -- Etienne Balibar

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Book SynopsisDuring the last fifty years, the writing of history underwent two massive transformations. First, powered by Marxism and other materialist sociologies, the great social history wave instated the value of social explanation. Then, responding to new theoretical debates, the cultural turn upset many of those freshly earned certainties. Each challenge was profoundly informed by politics - from issues of class, gender, and race to those of identity, empire, and the postcolonial. The resulting controversies brought historians radically changed possibilities - expanding subject matters, unfamiliar approaches, greater openness to theory and other disciplines, a new place in the public culture. History Made Conscious offers snapshots of a discipline continuously rethinking its charge. How might we understand "the social" and "the cultural" together? How do we collaborate most fruitfully across disciplines? If we take theory seriously, how does that change what historians do? How should we think differently about politics?Trade ReviewThere is no better guide to the debates over politics and history writing in our times than Geoff Eley. His deep knowledge of US, British and German historiography enables him to make a compelling case that different questions demand different theories. -- Catherine HallIn History Made Conscious, Geoff Eley covers great sweeps of the history of history since the 1960s. His work is marked by insightful observations on the circumstance which have sparked shifts in emphasis and a stimulating openness to influences from myriad intellectual currents, including the Marxist new left, feminism, cultural studies and ant-imperialism. -- Sheila RowbothamHistory cannot but benefit from entering into dialogue with other disciplines and confronting the challenges of politics. Permanently putting itself into question is the key to its renewal and vibrancy. Nearly two decades since A Crooked Line, Geoff Eley unveils the complex relationship between historical studies and politics. Global in scope, critical and nuanced in spirit, and illuminating from one end to the other, History Made Conscious is indispensable reading for anyone interested not only in the past, but also in the way history is written and interpreted in our time. -- Enzo TraversoSo, this is where we've been, historians and history, over the past fifty years. Geoff Eley is an informed, good-tempered and unfailingly courteous-sometimes very funny-guide to the vast landscape of post-colonial and Atlantic world-historiography, showing us the distressing wranglings of scholars, the aggressive battles of the books, all over the desolate terrain of Theory. He steers us to the future, so that by seeing what has been we may become better writers and readers of history. -- Carolyn Steedman

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Book SynopsisFocusing on Marxism and Rawlsian liberalism, G. A. Cohen argues that egalitarian justice is not only a matter of rules that define the structure of society, but also a matter of personal attitude and choice. Personal attitude and choice are, moreover, the stuff of which social structure itself is made.Trade ReviewThese nine engaging and searching lectures, an unorthodox mixture of intellectual autobiography and philosophical argument, fall into two parts. In the first, [Cohen] describes the leading features of the Marxism in which he once believed. In the second, he explains why he remains critical of the sort of left-wing liberalism that would seem to be Marxism's natural alternative. -- Ben Rogers * The Observer *Some titles carry the author's voice...Surely If You're an Egalitarian, How Come You're So Rich? does. Cohen is much the funniest living Anglophone political philosopher of any note, as well as perhaps the cleverest. Many of his best comic effects depend on the tone of voice, and some are clearly intended simply for fun. But it is always dangerous to assume that the jokes do not carry a point...[Cohen's book is] a strikingly personal address, fusing autobiography and the history of ideas with political philosophy, and ending not only with the weighty issue of how far personal attitudes must feature within the subject matter of justice itself, but with the more disconcerting question of how far the disciplines of living effectively under capitalism are bound to prove lethal for the soul...At one level, Cohen's book is largely an ingenious and agreeably frank casuistry of the ethics of professorial income management, but at another and more consequential level, it is a most imaginative deployment of personal ethical discomfort to pin down, and press home, a deep evasion at the center of this majority vision of social justice under capitalism. Its source may be merely the externalization of a private disquiet; but its force at the point of impact is as public as any philosopher could wish. -- John Dunn * Times Higher Education Supplement *This is an unusual book, a remarkably successful blend of autobiography, intellectual history and moral philosophy that reflects the author's distinctive outlook and background … [It] presents, I believe, the most important contemporary challenge to the egalitarian form of liberalism...The questions he asks are the ones we should all be worrying about. -- Thomas Nagel * Times Literary Supplement *It would be difficult to over-praise this wonderful book. It is profound, humane, witty, erudite, and often deeply personal. Though presented as something of an intellectual memoir, Cohen provides us with more food for thought than has been available in any book on egalitarian political philosophy in recent memory. -- Daniel Weinstock * Philosophy in Review *Table of ContentsPreface Prospectus 1. Paradoxes of Conviction 2. Politics and Religion in a Montreal Communist Jewish Childhood 3. The Development of Socialism from Utopia to Science 4. Hegel in Marx: The Obstetric Motif in the Marxist Conception of Revolution 5. The Opium of the People:God in Hegel, Feuerbach, and Marx 6. Equality: From Fact to Norm 7. Ways That Bad Things Can Be Good: A Lighter Look at the Problem of Evil 8. Justice, Incentives, and Selfishness 9. Where the Action Is: On the Site of Distributive Justice 10. Political Philosophy and Personal Behavior Envoi Notes Bibliography Credits Index

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Book SynopsisBranko Milanovic charts 200 years of the fascinating history of the discourse on inequality through portraits of six key economists, from Quesnay to Kuznets. In their work and lives, we see how differently each conceived of inequality, and how the subject, prominent in their times, was eclipsed during the Cold War and has become central once again.Trade ReviewA timely book that brings the weight of the past to bear on one of the most pressing issues of our time…Milanovic is a clear and direct writer, unafraid of making strong judgements and with an idiosyncratic eye for detail. That makes for original, and sometimes amusingly wry, revelations. -- Darrin M. McMahon * Literary Review *Inequality is back, as a political topic and as a focus of study. In this fascinating book, Milanovic, one of the world’s most influential scholars of inequality, examines what leading economists of the past have had to say on this issue. -- Martin Wolf * Financial Times *A history of the changing ways economists have broached the subject [of inequality] since the French Revolution…[Milanovic] describes how Western economists were in thrall to an unholy combination of extremely simplistic assumptions and extremely complex mathematical models. -- Jennifer Szalai * New York Times *For anybody interested in inequality—and we all should be—anything by Milanovic is an essential read…This book is a great scene setter for the modern debate, not least in illustrating the link between ideas of inequality and the times in which ideas are formed. -- Diane Coyle * Enlightened Economist *An in-depth contextual analysis of how economic minds from Adam Smith to Karl Marx have shaped our understanding of class, income and wealth…This is a vital reference for the economic and philosophical theories underpinning our understanding of inequality today. -- Tej Parikh * Financial Times *An absorbing account of how thinking about inequality has evolved…Milanovic mixes his methodical examination of the evolution of economic thought about inequality with fascinating portraits of great economists and the society and polity of their times. -- Zia Qureshi * Finance & Development *A captivating journey through the time of ideas, with an impact on current events. -- Julien Damon * Les Echoes *A noted economist examines the thinking of six of his predecessors on how income is distributed and the conditions that favor or hinder the accumulation of wealth. * Kirkus Reviews *[A] sweeping survey of more than 200 years of philosophical thought about inequality. * Publishers Weekly *Fascinating and often surprising, offering new insight into iconic figures like Smith and Marx and unexpected perspectives on their work. Branko Milanovic shows that the writings of centuries past have much to teach us about inequality, especially about class and power. A truly important book. -- Angus Deaton, Nobel Laureate in Economic SciencesWhat do we talk about when we talk about economic inequality? To those who came of age after the 2008 financial crisis and Thomas Piketty’s Capital in the Twenty-First Century—an era marked by a widening fracture between rich and poor, especially within Western nations—the question might seem obvious. But as Branko Milanovic shows in his indispensable chronicle of the concept, we underestimate just how young, limited, and fraught our current understanding of inequality is—and how diverse its range of forebears. Researched with forensic thoroughness, and hardly shy about its political implications, Visions of Inequality presents a rare and rewarding combination of economic and conceptual history. -- Anton Jäger, Catholic University of LeuvenA fascinating journey across the history of economic thought through the lens of inequality. Milanovic’s erudite and thought-provoking exploration casts new light both on the analysis of income concentration and on the ideological travails of economics as a discipline. -- Ingrid Bleynat, King's College LondonImagine being able to ask Smith, Marx, and Pareto round for dinner and a chat about how each of them sees inequality. In effect, that’s what Branko Milanovic does in this new book. As he shows, economists’ interest in the subject is by no means a new phenomenon—but what counts, and who counts, in any analysis of inequality has varied dramatically over time. Recognizing this fact should make us reflect on how our own contemporary assays of inequality are more limited than we think. Taking us on an eye-opening tour from Quesnay to Kuznets, Milanovic shows us how inequality and capitalism have always intertwined. -- Mark Blyth, Brown University

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Book SynopsisVietnam focuses on how the country's governance shapes its politics, economy, social development, and international relations, as well as on the reforms required if it is to become a sustainable and modern high-income nation in the coming decades. This book features work by scholars from Vietnam, North America, and Europe.Trade ReviewIf you are going to read only one book on Vietnam to get up to speed with the state of scholarship on the country, this should be the one. A stellar cast of scholars looking at Vietnam from the rise of the party-state to its socioeconomic and diplomatic evolution gives readers an admirable compendium. -- Nayan Chanda, Ashoka University, former editor of Far Eastern Economic Review This volume is essential reading for anyone interested in how Vietnam transitioned from a poor, isolated country one generation ago to a rising Asian success story. Contributions cover both the economics and the politics of this ongoing transformation. -- David Dollar, Brookings Institution, former World Bank country economist for Vietnam and China This compilation provides a penetrating ringside glimpse into how Vietnam transitioned from a crippled centrally-planned economy into a global trading powerhouse and from a diplomatic pariah into a close partner of the U.S. and the West. The authors, including Vietnamese practitioners in and foreign advisers to the country's remarkable reform, detail the challenges Vietnam faces along the road to becoming a high-income nation, including a rigid political system, rampant corruption, growing economic inequality, serious environmental degradation, and a weak secondary education system. It is an invaluable read for anyone trying to understand this complex and dynamic country. -- Murray Hiebert, Center for Strategic and International Studies, author of Under Beijing's Shadow: Southeast Asia's China Challenge This is a critically important book that will be embraced by scholars of Vietnam and economic/political development more generally. The editors have assembled an astounding group of experts in a range of specialties from political science to economics to health to diplomatic history. Each chapter provides new insights that will enrich the knowledge of even long-term students of the country. -- Edmund Malesky, Duke University How can a communist party state coexist with a plural society? Read this book to find out! -- Stein Tonnesson, Peace Research Institute Oslo

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"A Financial Times Best History Book of the Year 2021""A Telegraph Best Book of the Year 2021""Books of this quality and significance are rare. Haslam has mined the archives of all the main players to produce an excellent, game-changing thesis that is as convincing as it is original."---Saul David, The Times"It may be a cliché to say this is a book every intelligent person ought to read, but it really is."---Simon Heffer, The Telegraph"Anyone interested in global tensions in the interwar period will learn much from the latest book of Jonathan Haslam. . . . He draws on a lifetime of expertise on the Soviet Union and Russian foreign policy to explain how fear of communism permeated international relations after 1917."---Tony Barber, Financial Times"Drawing on sources in English, French, Russian, German, Italian, Spanish and Swedish from archives across Europe (and beyond), The Spectre of War is full of fascinating stories that offer a unique glimpse into the tormented world on the eve of the Second World War. Elegantly crafted, it offers the reader the knowledge of a scholar who has worked in the field for decades."---David Motadel, Times Literary Supplement"2021’s most impressive work of history pulls together hidden threads to show how fear of Bolshevism poisoned international relations between the wars." * A Telegraph Best Book of the Year *"One of the year’s most impressive pieces of research."---Simon Heffer, A Telegraph Best New History Book

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Book SynopsisA guide about how Marxist theory can illuminate media studies.Table of ContentsPreface: From the small screen to the big picture. 1. Class and Creative Labour. 2. Mode of Production: Technology and New Media. 3. The Powers of Capital: Hollywood’s Media-Industrial Complex. 4. The State. 5. Base and Superstructure: Reconstructing the Political Unconscious. 6. Signs, Ideology and Hegemony. 7. Commodity Fetishism and Reification: The World Made Spectral. 8. Knowledge, Norms and Social Interests: Dilemmas for Documentary. 9. Conclusion: Reflections on Key Concepts and Contemporary Trends. Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisThis invaluable text, written by one of the world's most influential black scholars, re-imagines the communal ideal from a broader perspective that transcends modernity, industrialisation and capitalism. Following his death there has been a huge surge of interest in Cedric J Robinson and in this, his only book focusing on European radicalism.Trade Review'Before the movement for black lives made black radicalism cool for millennials, Cedric Robinson did the work of excavating an intellectual history we rely upon today' -- The Root 'Like W. E. B. Du Bois, Michel Foucault, Sylvia Wynter, and Edward Said, Robinson was that rare polymath capable of seeing the whole - its genesis as well as its possible future. No discipline could contain him. No geography or era was beyond his reach.... He left behind a body of work to which we must return constantly and urgently' -- Robin D.G. Kelley, author of 'Freedom Dreams: The Black Radical Imagination' 'Cedric Robinson was a great and wonderful man and a brilliant scholar. Everything he wrote is of incalculable value and 'An Anthropology of Marxism' is no exception' -- Fred Moten, New York UniversityTable of ContentsNew Foreword by H.L.T. Quan Preface by Avery Gordon 1. Coming to Terms with Marxian Taxonomy 2. The Social Origins of Materialism and Socialism 3. German Critical Philosophy and Marx 4. The Discourse on Economics 5. Reality and its Representation Index

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Book SynopsisExplores the impact of digital technologies on the logic of cultural capitalismTrade Review'Chanan's rich historical investigations of the evolving technologies of artistic production provide a fascinating new basis for a politics of culture' -- Michael Hardt, author of 'The Subversive 70s''Drawing on nearly fifty years of writing and teaching about the media and making films, Michael Chanan presents us with a series overlapping histories of different media technologies, which is both authoritative and original' -- Julian Petley, Honorary and Emeritus Professor of Journalism at Brunel University, London'Michael Chanan's brilliant synthesis, replete with fascinating detail, both boggles the mind and deeply educates' -- Claudia Gorbman, Professor Emerita of Film Studies at the University of Washington TacomaTable of ContentsSeries Preface Preface 1. Autonomy of the Aesthetic 2. The Changing Logic of Artistic Production 3. Cultural Commodification 4. Countercurrents 5. From Analog to Digital 6. Creativity Reconsidered Bibliography Notes

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Book SynopsisThe classic text on the history and theory of fascism, revised for the twentieth anniversary of its first publicationTrade Review'David Renton's thoughtful and open-minded study shines a light on this often misunderstood political current and contains vital lessons for anti-fascists today' -- Daniel Trilling, author of 'Lights in the Distance: Exile and Refuge at the Borders of Europe''An invaluable book showing us again why and how Marxists have been the best interpreters and fighters against fascism. Renton's updates make this even more urgent reading for taking on the return of fascist ideas in our time' -- Bill V. Mullen, author of 'James Baldwin: Living in Fire''This book is so much more than a historical survey because Renton’s detailed description of the development, growth and successful establishment of pre-war fascist regimes chimes worryingly with contemporary times' -- Morning Star'Fascism: History and Theory not only remains a thorough account of interwar Marxism’s understanding of fascism, but also provides a strong argument for a vital understanding of fascism, both in analysis and as practice' -- ROAR'A nuanced and intelligent discussion of what constitutes fascism' -- CounterpunchTable of ContentsIntroduction: The Anti-Fascist Wager 1. Interwar Fascism 2. An Alternative Method 3. Marxists against Mussolini and Hitler 4. Benjamin, Gramsci, Trotsky 5. Beyond 1933 6. Marxists and the Holocaust Conclusion: A Specific Form of Reactionary Mass Movement Notes Index

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Book SynopsisPutting the record straight about the last years of Rudolf Hess's lifeTrade ReviewCrisply authoritative first-hand account . . . The odd story of Hess’ imprisonment and death is one of those fascinating footnotes of history and readers will not find a better account of them than this book. -- The Washington Times

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Book SynopsisAmong the major Marxist thinkers of the period of the Russian Revolution, Rosa Luxemburg stands out as one who speaks to our own time. Her legacy grows in relevance as the global character of the capitalist market becomes more apparent and the critique of bureaucratic power more widely accepted within the movement for human liberation. The Rosa Luxemburg Reader will be the definitive one-volume collection of Luxemburg's writings in English translation. Unlike previous publications of her work from the early 1970s, this volume includes substantial extracts from her major economic writings-above all, The Accumulation of Capital (1913)-and from her political writings, including Reform or Revolution (1898), the Junius Pamphlet (1916), and The Russian Revolution (1918). The Reader also includes a number of important texts that have never before been published in English translation, including substantial extracts from her Introduction to Political Economy (1916), and a recently-discovered piece on slavery. With a substantial introduction assessing Luxemburg's work in the light of recent research, The Rosa Luxemburg Reader will be an indispensable resource for scholarship and an inspiration for a new generation of activists.

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Book SynopsisA veteran writer on Russia and the Soviet Union explains why Russia refuses to draw from the lessons of its past and what this portends for the futureTrade Review"A book full of vivid and well-chosen anecdotes."—Financial Times"David Satter has written a book full of vivid and well chosen anecdotes. . . . The use of nostalgia is Satter's field. Russia is not, he believes, able to give itself a chance; in love with their chains, its people cannot face up to the horrors of a past they wish to ignore or romanticize."—John Lloyd, Financial Times"Rich in detail and enthused by civil passion, It Was A Long Time Ago contains many precise, moving and original observations."—Alexander Etkind, Times Literary Supplement"A sweeping study of how the former Soviet Union’s bloody past continues to poison Russia’s present and threatens to strangle the country’s future."—Newsweek"Satter’s reflective, expert analysis of a Russian society in moral and cultural flux after the end of communism provides great food for thought beyond today’s headlines."—Publishers Weekly"This book, its title deliberately inviting a loud shout of ‘No!’ is more vehement than his previous studies of post-Soviet Russia, but just as impeccably argued."—Donald Rayfield, Literary Review"Satter casts fascinating light on the (comparatively cheerful) way in which repression was endured by the citizens of the USSR. . . . An informed and insightful essay – with disturbing implications."—Michael Kerrigan, The Scotsman"A meticulous, sweeping and wrenching history of Russia's burial of Soviet crimes. It is also a sensitive, compelling and convincing exploration of the importance of memory. But it makes a broader contention - that forgetting is a symptom of an illness that Russia contracted before the Soviet era . . . a humane, measured, first-hand, historically and philosophically rooted argument that is hard to refute."—Andrew Gardner, European Voice"Impeccably argued. . . . Satter is a man whom no Russian leader would wish to meet, let alone shake by the hand, but he has their measure."—Donald Rayfield, Literary Review"A meticulous, sweeping and wrenching history of Russia's burial of Soviet crimes . . . [and] a sensitive, compelling and convincing exploration of the importance of memory."—European Voice"Truly illuminating. . . . Satter is both a gifted journalist and a chronicler of intellectual and political currents. . . . Splendidly researched and engagingly written, this book offers invaluable vignettes of various reactions to the still unprocessed remembrance of totalitarian times."—Vladimir Tismaneanu, International Affairs"Highly successful in shedding light on both the nature of the Soviet system and the post-Communist period, this is a lucid, illuminating portrait of the outlook and attitudes of Russians. This book is one of the best I have ever read about the Soviet system and what it left behind."—Paul Hollander, author ofPolitical Will and Personal Belief: The Decline and Fall of Soviet Communism"The central message of this important new book—that Russia cannot reverse its current decline without first coming to terms with the crimes of its Soviet past—is both sobering and absolutely compelling."—Carl Gershman, President of the National Endowment for Democracy"In this penetrating analysis of Russia today, David Satter demonstrates how terror, ideology and mass murder were integrated and institutionalized in the Soviet Union, then dismantled in economic collapse, and are now resurrected in a modern, lighter authoritarian regime, minus the ideology. 'It Never Happened' gives the reader original insights and analysis by a Russian expert par excellence, and one exceptionally well written."—Richard V. Allen, Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution and former National Security Advisor to Ronald Reagan"An insightful, informative and fact-filled book."—Paul Hollander, author of Political Will and Personal Belief: The Decline and Fall of Soviet Communism"Many of our finest journalists have grappled with the moral legacy of Soviet communism. This book is a reminder that no one has stayed with the issue longer, dug deeper, or thought harder about it than David Satter."—Stephen Sestanovich, U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for the former Soviet Union, 1997-2001

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Book SynopsisSocialism has always had internationalist ambitions, but what those ambitions should be and how to rethink them in the 21st century remain open questions. Before his tragic passing in 2020, Michael Brooks talked about a new kind of cosmopolitan socialism that would be appropriate for our time. A How To Guide To Cosmopolitan Socialism builds upon Brooks' vision to argue that we need a left which knows no boundaries and recognizes the fundamental moral equality of all individuals on the planet while securing the material conditions for their flourishing. Only such a sweeping vision can successfully combat the forces of reaction and violence confronting us today.

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Book SynopsisThis edition of letters by Antonio Gramsci vividly evokes the 'great and terrible world' in which he lived, a description he used a number of times in his correspondence. The letters show Gramsci beginning to form the theoretical concepts that come to fuller fruition in the Prison Notebooks, but they also give an essential and rounded picture of Gramsci's development, politically, intellectually and emotionally - the latter especially through letters to his family and wife. Broadly speaking, the letters are of three types: early letters to Gramsci's family; overtly political letters from Turin, Moscow, Vienna, and Rome; and letters to the Schucht sisters, including Jul'ka, whom he married while in Moscow. The political letters constitute a fascinating insight into the period, both with regard to the Communist International and, more often, to Italian politics. The volume also includes the famous letter of 1926 in which Gramsci, writing in the name of the Italian Party's Political Bureau, criticises the Central Committee of the Soviet Communist Party for their handling of internal opposition. The book follows a broadly chronological structure, and includes a general introduction, a guide to the main personalities involved, and additional contextual information for each chapter. It also includes some little-known photographic material.Trade Review'This collection of Gramsci's early correspondence provides new insight into his life and work. Through these letters, we follow the development of Gramsci's own thought and his involvement with the international communist movement. This book will prove an indispensable resource, not only to Gramsci scholars, but to anyone interested in the history of the left more widely.' Mark Fisher, author of Capitalist Realism and Ghosts Of My Life: Writings on Depression, Hauntology and Lost Futures 'This is a meticulous translation of a selection of Gramsci's pre-prison letters with an extensive introduction that places them in their historical context. These letters furnish fascinating new insights into both his personal and political life. Gramsci the man and Gramsci the politician emerge in new depth and detail. The volume is an invaluable asset to anyone interested in better understanding his ideas and his humanity.' Professor Anne Showstack Sassoon, author of Gramsci and Contemporary PoliticsTable of ContentsGeneral introduction 1. School and home in Sardinia 2. University student in Turin 3. Revolutionary Journalist: L'Avanti! and L'Ordine Nuovo 4. Comintern leader in Moscow 5 .Vienna: towards the new PCI leadership 6. Rome I: Political upheaval, family matters 7. Rome II: The last months of freedom Note on the translation Note on main characters

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Book SynopsisA look at the struggle to find alternatives to the failed radical projects of the 20th century.

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Book SynopsisThe life of the complex, ruthless adversary of General Franco, whose life spanned much of Spain’s turbulence in the 20th century.Trade Review‘Enormously engaging … authoritative … fascinating … ‘The Last Stalinist’ is yet another reminder that Paul Preston remains the most reliable historian in the English speaking world for anyone wishing to understand the complicated power struggles between left and right in Spanish politics over the course of the 20th century’ Spectator Praise for ‘The Spanish Holocaust’: ‘A book of extraordinary moral and emotional power, a classic of historical scholarship and a deeply affecting record of man’s inhumanity to man.’ Dominic Sandbrook, Sunday Times 'A harrowing and moving account of the immense terror and enormous atrocities, especially perpetrated by General Franco's followers, during and after the Spanish Civil War, meticulously researched and superbly written by an outstanding historian.' Ian Kershaw ‘Essential reading for anyone wishing to understand Spain and its recent history…. Preston’s excellent, spine-chilling narrative explains just how deep Franco’s early investment in terror was….this is an invaluable book that does not shrink from even the harshest of truths’ Guardian ‘Preston’s staggeringly detailed powerful and affecting chronicle of the savagery unleashed during the Spanish civil war….is a history of rare moral and emotional power, which alters forever our view of one of the most symbolic conflicts of the last century’ Sunday Times, History Book of the Year

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Book SynopsisThe first volume of The Idea of Communism followed the 2009 London conference called in response to Alain Badiou's 'communist hypothesis', where an all-star cast of radical intellectuals put the idea of communism back on the map.This volume brings together papers from the subsequent 2011 New York conference organized by Verso and continues this critical discussion, highlighting the philosophical and political importance of the communist idea, in a world of financial and social turmoil.Contributors include Alain Badiou, Etienne Balibar, Bruno Bosteels, Susan Buck-Morss, Jodi Dean, Adrian Johnston, François Nicolas, Frank Ruda, Emmanuel Terray and Slavoj Zizek.Trade ReviewDo not be afraid, join us, come back! You've had your anti-communist fun, and you are pardoned for it-time to get serious once again! -- Slavoj Zizek

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"[A] fine and undoubtedly enduring study. This affinity of Leninism with Nazism is the argument of Tismaneanu’s book. It is a claim that since 1945, and particularly the Cold War, has generated much controversy. A distinguished book." -- William Pfaff, * New York Review of Books *“This volume achieves the rare distinction of being at once nuanced and impassioned. It is likely to remain a durable contribution to a deeper understanding of the great historical outrages of the past century which were closely linked to the concept and reality of totalitarianism.” -- Paul Hollander, * New Criterion *“An ambitious and challenging rereading of twentieth-century history.” * Times Literary Supplement *“The parallels between communism and fascism have often been noted, fueling endless debates over whether the movements were fundamentally similar or different. The Devil in History . . . presents a genuinely fresh perspective on this topic.” * Foreign Affairs *"A fascinating, brilliant and captivating book. It is a stupendous achievement." * FrontPage Magazine *"The book offers a fascinating read with an incredible wealth of bibliographic sources that will benefit all those interested in the topic. The author has succeeded in giving not only a solid account of the spirituality and history of communist and fascist regimes, but also an outstanding testimony of liberal political and normative thinking." * Cambridge Review of International Affairs *"Vladimir Tismaneanu is the perfect political analyst for today, for he is an expert on both the legacies of Nazism and Communism. In spite of optimistic diagnoses and rampant wishful thinking, these two pathologies are not dead. Vladimir Tismaneanu’s illuminating book is an antidote against new experiments in utopian radicalism and social engineering." * WND *"Many books have been written about the similarities and differences between communism and fascism, both in theory and practice. None, however, matches the insight, analysis, and deep thought found in The Devil in History." * Weekly Standard *"The account provided is particularly strong on separating the critical paradigms of Marxism that emerged in East and West. . . . Getting the record straight here is important and challenges any simplistic notion of Eastern Europe’s conversion to liberalism." * American Historical Review *"Tismaneanu seeks to fulfill the ancient Jewish commandment of remembering and reminding, zachor, lest we forget and it may return. . . . [the book] argues convincingly that a reckoning with the past can be both exorcism and therapy, and insists that there should be no silence or thick line separating the present from the embarrassing past." * Perspectives on Politics *"A fine book" * National Review *“At a time when liberal values are showing their frailty and salvationist mythologies are returning to favour in different places, an absorbing comparative essay is provided on the origins, ravages and ultimate failure of the radical totalitarian movements of the last century: communism and fascism. Vladimir Tismaneanu is an appropriate guide, a polymath steeped in the philosophical, literary and social science texts spawned by defenders, apostates and analysts of this phenomenon.” * International Affairs *“Tismaneanu's real concern is to examine what he calls the ‘maximalist utopian aspirations’ expressed by communist and fascist regimes in Europe to try to understand how it is that systems that set out with a utopian agenda—world revolution or national rebirth—end up constructing murderous dystopias. . . . The core of this perceptive and intelligent analysis is addressed to the more troubling question of how they were possible at all.” * Times Higher Education *“Tismaneanu’s lucid narrative walks us through an intellectual landscape that traces the trajectory of totalitarian thinking back to its origins. . . . a chilling analysis of a century where mankind aimed to reach the promised land through the power of ideas. It shows that thinking of politics as a simple scientific formula that could be solved, once it was followed to its logical conclusion, seriously underestimates the complexities of the human condition.” * Daily Beast *“Mr. Tismaneanu has produced a definitive account of the origins, the appeal, the doctrinal foundations and the political technology of history's two bloodiest political faiths, which, unlike other tyrannies, sought not only to control politics and the economy but to establish permanent state ownership of truth and morality. . . . A powerful indictment of the twin 'utopias in power,' as well as a paean to those who resisted them, this profound and rich book is also a cautionary tale.” * Wall Street Journal *Table of ContentsForeword Prologue: Totalitarian Dictators and Ideological Hubris 1. Utopian Radicalism and Dehumanization 2. Diabolical Pedagogy and the (Il)logic of Stalinism 3. Lenin's Century: Bolshevism, Marxism, and the Russian Tradition 4. Dialectics of Disenchantment: Marxism and Ideological Decay in Leninist Regimes 5. Ideology, Utopia, and Truth: Lessons from Eastern Europe 6. Malaise and Resentment: Threats to Democracy in Post-Communist Societies Conclusions Notes Index

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Book SynopsisA reissue of E. E. Cummings's long-unavailable, yet pointed and moving story of a journey through Soviet Russia.

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