In 1931, the Italian author Curzio Malaparte wrote a book, The Technique of Revolution, in which he described the essential ingredients of a successful coup. He analyzed Lenin and Trotsky’s coup in 1917. Malaparte’s main thesis was that a passionate minority, with a determined leadership, could succeed only if they acted resolutely at a tipping point, when everything hangs in the balance—without worrying about the consequences.
