Comrades: A History of World Communism

From the author of Lenin: The Definitive Biography , The Organization and Ideology of World Communism

In "Comrades ," Robert Service begins his critical analysis with Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin, moving on to Mao Zedong, Fidel Castro, and several other protagonists of decisive world events, offering the reader a comprehensive overview of the history of global communism. Not limiting himself to discussing the politics of the upper echelons of power within these regimes, Service also presents the social conditions that led millions of people to support communism in many countries.

Subsequently, by carrying out an accurate investigation into long-lasting regimes (such as that of the former Yugoslavia and Cuba) and addressing the failure of some communist revolutions (such as that of Hungary in 1919 and that of the ineffective communist parties in the United States), his critical study scrutinizes the international connections that connect hundreds of organizations to the present day.

More than two decades after the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, Robert Service undertakes the task of examining this economic and sociopolitical doctrine. Drawing on rich and reliable sources, including new documents, the author presents us with a humanized perspective on the subject, as well as a critical overview of the global communist phenomenon.