The Basic Writings of Trotsky

by L. Trotskii

Writing from across Trotsky's life, from 1917-1935, the year in which he was murdered, totalling some 32 pieces. The Editor, Irving Howe, chose his selection of Leon Trotsky's writings from among those he considered to be exceptionally well written. There is an overview of Trotsky's life & fundamental thoughts but the stress in this book is upon his writing style.

Genres: Politics

428 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1963

Reviews

[Erik Graff · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an unusual collection of Trotsky's work, unusual because the emphasis is on literature and culture, not on politics--though, to some extent, politics was never far from the author's mind. Here, as I recall, are book reviews and the like chosen by the editor for their literary quality.

I believe I read this around the time of reading Deutscher's three-volume hagiography, er, biography, of Trotsky. The two together had me thinking of myself as a Trotskyist by the time I graduated from high school. Of course, I also thought of myself as an existentialist and as a pacifist at the time--such is the adolescent ferment.

[Steven Peterson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Irving Howe has edited a series of Leon Trotsky's essays. Howe, in his Introduction, notes that Trotsky believed that writing was actually a political act. Howe says (Page 4): "[Trotsky:] regarded his outpouring of brilliant compositions. . .as the necessary work of a Marxist leader who had pledged his life to socialism." The Introduction introduces us to Trotsky the person as well as to the contours of his political thinking.

The heart of the book, of course, is the essays, which tell us through Trotsky's own words of his political views. He details his views on war communism, the New Economic Policy, concepts underlying the Russian Revolution, bureaucracy and revolution, fascism, and so on.

If interested in a selection of Trotsky's ideas, this is a decent compilation. . . .

[Vincent · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a basic compilation of some of Trotsky's writings, sourced primarily from his most influential and popular books. As the title indicates, you gain more or less a basic understanding of Trotsky's beliefs, historical interpretations, and so on, through his political career.

This is by no means going to ensure you comprehensively understand Trotsky's philosophy and the role he played in major events in Soviet history; but the compilation is a great way to get some foundational knowledge before reading more technical and scholarly works about him. That being said, I didn't have much to complain about. I felt that the selection of writings was overall good for the book's purpose. I would've liked a bit more from Trotsky's "Terrorism and Communism" - as that book was quite revealing about how Trotsky perceived terror and his harsher polemics towards intellectual adversaries - but the rest of the writings felt appropriate.

Recommended if you want an accessible primer into Trotsky's writings. Trotsky is already a great writer who is easy to read, so there shouldn't be much difficulty in reading the works presented. 4 stars.