Leon Trotsky

'Out of the vast ideological arsenal he produced, Trotsky always considered that his most important works were those from his years in exile, which remain essential reading for those seeking to bring about fundamental change today' -- Esteban Volkow, Grandson of Leon Trotsky and President of the Board, Leon Trotsky House Museum, Coyoacan, Mexico 'This bracing book provides theoretical nourishment for our times. Trotsky continues to educate and inspire, his flame refuses to be extinguished' -- Suzi Weissman 'Leon Trotsky's ideas inspired Minnesota teamsters and Bolivian miners, Filipino peasants from Mindanao and rebel students in the Latin Quarter, New York intellectuals and French Surrealist poets' -- Michael Loewy

Leon Trotsky was one of the most prominent leaders of the Russian Revolution in 1917. He was one of the primary contenders for the leadership of the Bolshevik Party in 1922 after the death of Lenin. When Stalin took this post, Trotsky swiftly concluded that the Revolution had been undermined. He was expelled from the Communist Party in 1927 and subsequently went into exile in Mexico, where he was assassinated by Soviet agents in 1940. Kunal Chattopadhyay is Professor at the Department of Comparative Literature, Jadavpur University. He is the author of The Marxism of Leon Trotsky (2006). Paul Le Blanc is an activist and acclaimed American historian teaching at La Roche University, Pennsylvania. A conscientious objector to the Vietnam War, his politics were at odds with the establishment from a young age. He has written extensively on the history of the labor and socialist movements of the United States and Europe, including books on Lenin, Trotsky, Luxemburg and the importance of the revolutionary collective.

Contents Introduction Section 1: Revolutionary Russia and Bureaucratic Dictatorship 1. In Defense of October 2. Stalinism and Bolshevism 3. Letter to Soviet Workers Section 2: Fascism and United Front 4. What Is National Socialism 5. Letter to a German Worker (United Front for Defense) 6. Lessons of Spain Section 3: Anti-Imperialism and National Struggle 7. Closer to the Proletarians of Colored Races 8. The Chinese Revolution 9. Letter to the Workers of India 10. Mexico and British Imperialism 11. Nationalized Industry 12. On Black Nationalism (excerpts) Section 4: Summing Up, Looking to the Future 13. Transitional Program (excerpts) 14. Trade Unions in the Epoch of Imperialist Decay 15. Testament Notes Index