What To Read

[Eddie999]

I have quite a bit of free time on my hands at the moment and have decided to sepend it reading some of the main works of various communist writers. So far I have read, 'The Communist Mannifesto' and I need to know what I should read next.

I need to know what else Marx/Engels have written. I know of 'Capital' though I do not know how many volumes it is made up of (any help here would be appreciated.)

Also what works of Lenin, Mao and Castro, if any, should I consider? Any other suggestions of work by any other communist writers, such as Trotsky, would also be appreciated.

[Wenty]

Capital is in 3 volumes although the first volume is the only one written by Marx when he was alive and the other two are heavily edited by Engels after his death. I wouldn't recommend you read it unless you have a basic to good understanding of economic and hegelian theory beforehand.

Instead of listing all their works i suggests you take a look at the large amount of stuff on these websites:-

http://ptb.lashout.net/marx2mao/

http://www.marxists.org

http://www.marxist.com

You can read them online or buy them later but there is a whole wealth of stuff to keep you going for quite a while i expect.

[Pawn Power]

their is so much to read..
The State of Revolution- Lenin
History of the Russian Revolution- Trotsky
The Revolution Betrayed: What is the Soviet Union and where is it going- Trotsky

their are alot of lenin's writtings in a book called Essential Works of Lenin: “What is to be done?” and other writings

that is just a small emount of reading that is out their, all the ones i listed you can buy on the evil amazon corporation web store

[Pedro Alonso Lopez]

http://www.marxists.org/archive/trotsky/index.htm

[Pawn Power]

are the writtings in the marxist archive website the full writtings, i mean is the liturature posted their the whole.

[Kurai Tsuki]

Although I've often reccomended it; Rogue State by William Blum.

[Saint-Just]

Read:
Quotations from the Chairman Mao Zedong
On Khrushchev's Phoney Communism

[Roses in the Hospital]

Make sure you learn about practice as well as theory of comunism by reading a few history books. It will soon become apparant that what people say and what people do are not necessarily the same thing.
A good history of the USSR is probably a good start...

[Eddie999]

Thanks for all your help and suggestions. I'll have a look on amazon and ebay and see what they have. I definately think I'll get a book on the history of the USSR as you suggested Roses in the Hospital, any in particular you suggest? Also I'll think I'll read 'The State of Revolution' by Lenin, as you suggested glory. Thats just for starters anyway.

[Wenty]

I wouldn't recommend the state and revolution. It presumes a good understanding of Marxism already and its quite dull as well.

[Roses in the Hospital]

I definately think I'll get a book on the history of the USSR as you suggested Roses in the Hospital, any in particular you suggest?

Pop along to your local library, they're bound to have a couple. Look for one originally published post 1990, particularly one which the author had accsess to the de-classified stuff from the Kremlin archives, I'll probably be more accurate. Also a well illustrated one is probably a good idea, it'll give you chance to get to recognise whose who of revolutionaries, and seeing the kinds of ways Stalin doctored pictures is always interesting...

[Saint-Just]

Originally posted by Roses in the [email protected] 30 2004, 10:11 AM

Pop along to your local library, they're bound to have a couple. Look for one originally published post 1990, particularly one which the author had accsess to the de-classified stuff from the Kremlin archives, I'll probably be more accurate. Also a well illustrated one is probably a good idea, it'll give you chance to get to recognise whose who of revolutionaries, and seeing the kinds of ways Stalin doctored pictures is always interesting...
Its strange that you recommend someone to read a western history book on the USSR whilst you have Lenin in your avatar since it will be full of lies about how Lenin massacred so many people.

[Roses in the Hospital]

Its strange that you recomment someone to read a western history book on the USSR whilst you have Lenin in your avatar since it will be full of lies about how Lenin massacred so many people.

Lenin's policies did result in a lot of death, and I berleve this, on the whole, to be historic fact rather than Western propaganda. You could argue that the blood on Lenin's hands was in defence of the October revolution but here is not the place for such a debate...
The reason Lenin is in my avatar is because I respect him as a Revolutionary leader, not because I support all of his policies. In fact I make a point of not classing everyone in black and white: Lenin had good points and bad points, Stalin had good points and bad points, Mao had good points and bad points, even Hitler was not all bad (admitadely in his case his crimes might outweigh his redeming features.) The other reason I have him in my avatar is simply because I happen to like that particular image.
I recomended a Western history book simply because it would be easily accesible and, genrally, could be relied upon to give an accurate overview of Soviet history. If you are not happy with my recomendation though, feel free to make an alternative recomendation. Trotsky's History of the Russian Revolution perhaps... :D

[Saint-Just]

Thats a fair recommendation then if that is your view on Lenin.

I have never read a book that chronicles the entire history of the USSR.

The book I would recommend is:

Soviet Communism by Sidney Webb and Beatrice Potter.
They visited the Soviet Union in the 30s and recorded what they saw.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0...8487081-9895833 (http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/058203048X/qid=1088610876/sr=1-23/ref=sr_1_0_23/202-8487081-9895833)

[Guerrilla22]

Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life

Episodes of the Cuban Revolution by Che

Guerrilla Warfare by Che

On Guerrilla Warfare by Mao TSe Tung

Enemy at the Gate

Anything by Chomsky

[Pawn Power]

Enemy at the Gate

does it have any communist insight, because their wasent much in the film, good flick though....

[Guerrilla22]

No communist insight, it's purely a historical account of the battle of Stalingrad and a very in depth one at that. It contains a lot of old Soviet documents and recounts the entire battle almost day by day. The film covered only a very small portion of the book.

[Wenty]

so what? everyone slags off film versions of books. What do you expect, its a completely different medium.

[Pawn Power]

Originally posted by [email protected] 1 2004, 07:57 AM
No communist insight, it's purely a historical account of the battle of Stalingrad and a very in depth one at that. It contains a lot of old Soviet documents and recounts the entire battle almost day by day. The film covered only a very small portion of the book.
cool, maybe ill check it out, thx