The Prophet Armed, Vol. 1: Trotsky, 1879-1921

A very readable biography. The material on his childhood and youth is well selected; the account of the fractured political situation in 1919-21 is especially well covered. The last chapter on how Trotsky was lead to betray his own principles is worth comparing to more recent assessments of his actions. Includes a map of regions held by non-Bolshevik forces in 1919-20, very detailed index. 540 pages.

Firstly, it's necessary to keep in mind that Deustscher was not trying to write a biography of Trotsky- if by that is meant an account of his life for its own sake- nor was he trying to write a history of the Russian Revolution and its leaders as a self-contained account. Deutscher's goals where twofold: to vindicate Trotsky's early opposition against Lenin's conception of the revolutionary party as well as his later opposition to Stalin's policies _in the long run_ and at the same time to acknowledge the necessity of Leninism and Stalinism _in the short run_. However objectionable such a view is today, Deutscher's political dialogue with Trotsky's ghost is superbly argued and documented, and anyone, no matter one's political views, will finish reading this work feeling one knows more about the subject than beforehand. In all the languages this work was translated (and I remember the ruckus produced in Brazil by the 1960s Portuguese trans.) it played havoc with accepted Left commonplaces. There are many faults in this new Verso edition: first, its paperback binding is atrocious (after a first read, I have already a couple of loose pages); secondly, there lacks an introduction that sets the work in perspective 50 years after its publication, as well as a glossary of unusual terms for today's conservative age (such as comissar, soviet, etc.) and, perhaps, some short biographies of the smaller characters,with dates of birth and decease, positions held, whereabouts, etc.However, the work can still be enjoyably read on its own, even if you miss some (admittedly small) points.

Leon Trotsky would seem to most people today, simply by nature of having been a Communist and a founder of the Soviet Union, an utter irrelevance. Fifty years ago, when Deutscher published this volume of his chronicle Trotsky's life this was not the case. Trotsky was more libeled by Stalin's Soviet Union and the sycophantic Communist Parties of the Third International than any dissident has ever been by any regime. Deutscher took it upon himself to save the founder of the Red Army from an oblivion that he did not deserve, and place him in the pantheon of twentieth century giants where he belonged. The fact that his book is still in print after half a century shows that in the eyes of some portion of the reading public he succeded. This first volume deals with Trotsky's genesis from a bookish and brilliant student to a commited revolutionary and his successful part--second only Lenin--in leading the Soviet Union to victory against the forces of reaction. The years of Trotsky's life in exile; as the flamboyant leader of the St. Petersburg Soviet during the 1905 revolution; his violent and polemical disagreements with Lenin on socialist doctrine in the years before the Bolshevik seizure of power; and the often overlooked Trotsky who was a great critic of art and literature are all recounted with utter beauty. This biography reads like the best fiction because of Deutscher's unbelievable control over the English language--he did not begin using the language on a regular basis until after his thirteith year. Overall, for anyone interested in the beginning of that great experiment gone awry that has rightfully been consigned ash heap of history--Soviet socialism--this book is an absolute must. The Trotsky who was responsible for birthing the Soviet Union rightfully appears to the reader, especially in light of the state's collapse in 1991, as one who would have ensured that it would still exist today in a form that would have made the priveleged and the exploiters of the world quack with a fear that the murderous Stalinists never dreamed of--and without all the murder. Oh Brave world that never was!!

This is an excellent biography of Trotsky, and, despite the fact it takes up 3 books, it makes up excellent reading and gives one understanding of not just the life of Trotsky, but the reason for many of the peculiar changes that happened in the USSR in it's early days. It leaves the reader quite well informed, and one gets to meet quite a few revolutionaries through the book, including Zasulich, Axelrod, Plekhanov, and Parvus. Get it!

Not only a great overview of Trotsky, a great resource about the ideas, debates and people that formed this century and.