Leon Trotsky: A Revolutionary's Life

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Leon Trotsky: A Revolutionary's Life
Leon Trotsky A Revolutionary's Life.jpg
Book cover
Author Joshua Rubenstein
Original titleThe Life and Death of Leon Trotsky (2009). [a]
LanguageEnglish
SeriesYale Jewish Lives [1]
Subject Russian Revolution, Leon Trotsky, Soviet Union, Communism, Joseph Stalin
Genre Non-fiction, Biography, History, Politics
Publisher Yale University Press
Publication date
2011
Publication placeUnited States
Media typeHardcover, Paperback, Kindle
Pages240
ISBN 978-0300137248
OCLC 696942380
Website Publisher's page

The Life and Death of Leon Trotsky [a] is a biography of Leon Trotsky by Joshua Rubenstein. The book was originally published in 2009 by Yale University Press and is part of the Yale Jewish Lives series. [2] [3]

Contents

Synopsis and structure

Leon Trotsky: A Revolutionary’s Life by Joshua Rubenstein is a concise biography that explores Trotsky's role as a revolutionary, his Jewish background, and his political downfall. Part of Yale University Press's Jewish Lives series, the book presents Trotsky as a complex figure—both a key architect of the Russian Revolution and a victim of the regime he helped establish.

While the biography highlights Trotsky's intellectual and organizational contributions, it also underscores his ideological rigidity and political miscalculations. Rubenstein examines Trotsky's ambivalent relationship with his Jewish identity, noting moments of empathy toward Jewish suffering despite his self-identification as a Marxist internationalist. Reviewers praised the book's clarity and accessibility. [4] [5]

Reception

Release information

About the author

Joshua Rubenstein is an American activist, writer and scholar of literature, dissent, and politics in the former Soviet Union. He won a National Jewish Book Award in Eastern European studies in 2002 for his book Stalin’s Secret Pogrom. [7] [8]

See also

References

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 The book was originally published in 2009 as The Life and Death of Leon Trotsky by Yale University Press. The title was changed to Leon Trotsky: A Revolutionary's Life for the 2011 edition published by Yale University Press.

Citations

  1. ↑ "Jewish Lives Series". Yale University Press. Retrieved June 1, 2025.
  2. ↑ "The Life and Death of Leon Trotsky". Yale University Press. Retrieved May 31, 2025.
  3. 1 2 Rubenstein, Joshua (2011). Leon Trotsky: A Revolutionary's Life. New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN   9780300112030. OCLC   696942380.
  4. ↑ Swain, Geoffrey (2012). "Review of Leon Trotsky: A Revolutionary's Life by Joshua Rubenstein". Russian Review. 71 (4). Wiley: 702–703. Retrieved June 1, 2025.
  5. ↑ Daly, Jonathan (2012). "Review of Leon Trotsky: A Revolutionary's Life by Joshua Rubenstein". The Historian. 74 (4). Wiley: 890–891. Retrieved June 1, 2025.
  6. ↑ "Tony Cliff Archive". Marxists Internet Archive. Retrieved May 31, 2025.
  7. ↑ "Joshua Rubenstein". Davis Center. Retrieved June 12, 2022.
  8. ↑ "Winners of 52nd National Jewish Book Awards". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. October 17, 2002. Retrieved June 12, 2022.
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