Isaac Deutscher's "Prophet" trilogy. Reccomend?

[Brandon's Impotent Rage]

I'm speaking of Deutscher's three volume biography of Leon Trotsky.

Would you guys reccomend it? I ask because it's a relatively expensive set of books, yet I've heard many rave reviews about it from many different sources.

I'll admit, I'm not extremely fond of Trotsky (hence the bolded text in my sig). I do think he was a great writer, and obviously his contribution to the Russian Revolution was important... but I don't think he would have been a very good successor to Lenin, and his actions during the Krondstadt rebellion and his massive ego have soured me on him to an extent.

But apparently, this biography was a HUGE influence on the British New Left back in the day, and I've even heard Anarchists who couldn't help but come away with a huge respect for Trotsky after they read it.

So, what do you guys think?

[motion denied]

Highly recommended.

[Brandon's Impotent Rage]

So it really is that good?

[Lenina Rosenweg]

I thought Deutscher's bio is one of the most exciting book(s) I've ever read. Its controversial among Trotskyists actually, many Trots hate Deutscher. While a Trotskyist himself, Deutscher thought the 4th Int'l was a mistake and criticizes Trotsky's approacgh in many ways.Still I would agree with Tariq Ali who called the Prophet series "life changing". He's right.

Right this! You won't regret it.

[Prometeo liberado]

You can find it pretty cheap online in paper back.

[Art Vandelay]

Its a fantastic series. Short of reading Trotsky's history of the RR, its one of the best sources that I've ever come across, for that period in time and I still find myself skimming the pages for sources every so often. Not only does it lay out the history of the revolution quite well, it goes into great detail on the theoretical differences between the LO and the other factions within the Bolsheviks. Couldn't recommend it enough. I believe I ordered the set from my local book store for about 65$, but I'm sure you could find used versions for cheaper.

[boiler]

Yes get them they are well worth it. I recommend them very good read

[ed miliband]

fun fact: tony blair's favourite book(s), here's what he had to say:


This book may seem an odd choice for an originator of New Labour, which is about as far from Trotskyist politics on the progressive political wing as you can be, but it was, curiously, the first political book I read and the one that got me interested in politics. It is in three volumes. It was, for its time, hugely significant. In that era, the Soviet Union was supreme: Stalinism had crushed all dissent in the communist empire; Trotsky, one of Lenin's original lieutenants in the Bolshevik revolution of 1917, was an outcast. Deutscher's trilogy was a powerful counterblast. It described Trotsky as the true revolutionary who stood out against the cruelty and oppression with which communism came to be associated. Trotskyism and its fight with the official Soviet-style left defined student politics in the 1960s and 1970s, and no one who lived through that period can forget it. But the most interesting thing for me is the character of Trotsky that Deutscher reveals. For all his faults and inconsistencies, the range of his thinking and the energy of the creativity were remarkable. And ultimately, despite his rigid adherence to Marxism, he was moved by an impulse far more moral than scientific.

[Red Commissar]

Would you guys reccomend it? I ask because it's a relatively expensive set of books, yet I've heard many rave reviews about it from many different sources.


Have you tried looking for it in a library, or are you looking to make this permanent part of your personal library?

I haven't read the book so I can't recommend it, but I see that all three volumes are in my city's library and I live in a pretty dull area to boot.

What I want to ask I suppose if one day I decide to check this out is how accessible is the book? Is it written such that you can read it pretty smoothly or is it dense?

[motion denied]

Have you tried looking for it in a library, or are you looking to make this permanent part of your personal library?

I haven't read the book so I can't recommend it, but I see that all three volumes are in my city's library and I live in a pretty dull area to boot.

What I want to ask I suppose if one day I decide to check this out is how accessible is the book? Is it written such that you can read it pretty smoothly or is it dense?

I read a Portuguese translation, but it was a pretty smooth reading. I would "get into" the book, almost as if it were regular literature.

Great, great series.

[Lenina Rosenweg]

Its very accessible, not written as academic history but almost as a Jack London adventure series.I though it was a fun, exciting read, not a mish mash of academic point scoring which unfortunately even leftist academic historians seem to indulge in.

Used copies of each of the books seem relatively cheap on Amazon.

Other books I might add along the same lines are Trotsky's History of The Russian Revolution (popular even among people who have no use for Trotsky) and Pierre Broue's The German Revolution.

[blake 3:17]

Highly recommended. His biography of Stalin is excellent as well.

[Devrim]

It's available for free on the Internet like virtually everything else these days. It's not a bad read in my opinion.

Devrim