A Rebel's Guide to Trotsky

Bookmarks Rebel's Guides

by Esme Choonara

Leon Trotsky was a central figure in the decisive event of the 20th century, the Russian Revolution of 1917. This is a short, accessible introduction to Trotsky's life and ideas.

Genres: Politics

64 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Sophie · Rating 4 out of 5]

not really convinced this is a useful introduction to trotsky... feels very simplistic and reductive at times, not giving enough detail in some places and too much in others. it also feels a little too biased to me and i would have liked a more extensive list on sources and further reading

[Niklas Zenius Jespersen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gives an okay introduction to Trotsky, the Russian revolution and the struggle with Stalin. It's very easy to read and is finished pretty fast. Unfortunately, it has several flaws. The biggest flaw is a lack of clear idea behind the book. On the one hand, it's a pretty superficial basic introduction meant to be a quick guide, which is a good thing, we need basic introductions on many subjects. Unfortunately, it's a bit too long to really fit into that category and at several points try to be a bit more of a basic theoretical exploration. On the other hand it leaves many subjects far too unexplored and superficial too really explain the theory or strategic lessons, even on a basic level. Thereby it ends up being a bit too long to just be a superficial introduction, yet its too superficial to leave the reader with much beyond this superficial introduction. Either, it should have been about a third shorter or it should have tried to explain some of the theoretical points a bit better. For example it ends up using several pages on the theory of permanent revolution, yet doesn't really explain it ending up just making statements instead of real explanation and leaving out crucial elements of the theory.

At the same time, for a pamphlet about 60 pages, it seems strange that it doesn't deal with some of the more controversial points of Trotskys life, like the Kronstadt Rebellion. Had it been only 20-30 pages it might have been understandable, but at this length it seems more like fear of exposing more controversial subjects. The pamphlet mentions briefly the peasant uprisings against the Soviet government but doesn't explain the policy towards them by Trotsky (the civil war and economic crisis forced the government to take wheat in tax from peasants while not paying them sufficiently in order to prevent starvation in the cities). These more controversial points deserved a few pages explaining the conditions forcing the government to act as it did, while taking in Trotsky nuanced opinion that for example the Krondstadt Rebellion could have been prevented by earlier attention to the problems in the area. As these controversial points are quite well know on the radical left, there is really no points to try to ignore them, instead the pamphlet could have been a much needed reply to the black-white portrayal of the situation by some anarchist groups.

It also has a few mistakes, like defining Cossack's as "rich peasants" (Cossack's were an independent ethnic group which had been loyal to the Tzar, among other reasons because they were granted partially autonomy within the Russian empire) and declaring that Trotsky analyzed fascism as a movement of the "middle classes". Actually, Trotsky defined fascism as a movement of the petit bourgeoisie, which is not the same thing as the middle-classes in Marxist definition.

It can still be worth reading for a basic introduction to Trotsky, his time and politics, but I have seen better, as well as shorter, introductions.

[Dillon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh

[Kinkin · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent introduction to Trotsky. I recommend this very short book (60 pages) to any beginner in marxist theory. This book is basically a summary of Trotsky's life (what he did, where he did it, how he did it, his theories, etc...). So once you've read this you'll be able to understand better marxist debates.
Besides there is a nice paragraph in the end full of book recommendations in case you want to widen your knowledge of Leon Trotsky.

[Shaharuddin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Saya membaca edisi terjemahan Baha Melayu yang diterjemahkan oleh Viren Swani (Jun 2007) dan Disunting Oleh PSM (2008)

[Simon Bruce · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good short introduction to Trotsky.. Very good book list at the end also, to further your reading.