The Red Flag

Communism was one of the most powerful political and intellectual movements of the modern world; at the height of its influence over a third of the world's population lived under Communist rule. And yet very few predicted either its bewildering rise or sudden decline, while even close observers were mystified by its frequent convulsions and turbulent politics. In "The Red Flag", David Priestland provides an original account of the Communist movement that fully explores its global impact. He not only discusses the ideas and motivations of its principal thinkers and leaders - from Marx to Mao, from Stalin to Che Guevara, but also asks why Communism inspired its rank and file - from the militants of 1920s Russia and the guerrilla fighters of China to the Marxist students of Ethiopia and the urban terrorists of Europe in the 1970s. At same the time "The Red Flag" explores the experience of living under Communism for its millions of subjects. In his lively and absorbing narrative Priestland stresses how varied a phenomenon Communism was. He traces its emergence in the aftermath of the French Revolution, and shows how those early ideas evolved and mutated as they moved across time and place, from the barricades of Europe in 1848 to the villages of Nepal today. At a time when the post-Cold War order is itself in crisis and we enter a new phase of global political and economic uncertainty, "The Red Flag" is essential reading. 'A mesmerizing survey of the ideological and political history of communism. Priestland successfully crafts a global account of communism's development and mutation across nations and generations, deftly combining academic rigour, personal histories and an engaging narrative. Twenty years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, "The Red Flag" provides a formative account of communism's rise and fall and its extraordinary impact on the lives of millions' - Tristram Hunt.

ISBN 0140295208   Pages 704 ISBN13 9780140295207 (What's this?)   Weight (grammes) 502 Publisher Penguin Books Ltd   Published in London Imprint Penguin Books Ltd   Height (mm) 198 Format Paperback   Width (mm) 129 Publication date 05 Aug 2010   Spine width (mm) 30 DEWEY 320.532   Academic level General, Professional / Scholarly, Tertiary education DEWEY edition DC22

Hugely ambitious and boldly achieved, The Red Flag explores the roots, perversions, and manifold intellectual and geographic developments of the most dynamic and disruptive political movement of modern times, and David Priestland's compelling narrative explains how even in discredit and defeat it achieved a paradoxical success by forcing critical reforms in the ranks of its capitalist foes. -- Martin Walker, Author Of 'the Cold War: A History' A mesmerizing survey of the ideological and political history of communism. Priestland successfully crafts a global account of communism's development and mutation across nations and generations, deftly combining academic rigour, personal histories and an engaging narrative. -- Tristram Hunt

 Be the first to write a customer review

Version	Price	Published	Edition
Hardback	£35.00	2009