Trotsky

Life&Times
By Dave Renton

Leon Trotsky became the leading spokesman of Russian Revolution, and was  the founder of the victorious Red Army of 1918-1921, and did more than anyone to create the early soviet state.Yet Trotsky was out-manoeuvred by Stalin in the struggle to succeed Lenin. In the years followed, he developed the first systematic critique of Stalin's dictatorship. In 1929, he and his wife were forced out of Russia, moving from Turkey to France, and finally to Mexico, where he was brutally assassinated by a Spanish communist in 1940.

'Renton has produced a clear and informative biography of 'the man who refused to compromise, who followed the revolution to its end, who wrote and argued and never gave up', which constitutes a sympathetic but far from uncritical portrait of perhaps the most controversial left-wing figure in the history of the 20th century. In addition, the book is beautifully produced, containing dozens of photographs, and the main text is interspersed with brief 'encyclopedia' style entries on famous events, historical figures, and concepts and theories...'

Alex Miller, Greenleft

Dave Renton is a Senior Research Fellow in History at Sunderland University. He specialises in the history of facism and communism. His other works include Haus Publishing: CLR James - Crickets Philosopher King.