The Prophet Armed: Trotsky 1879-1921 [Hardcover]

Isaac Deutscher (Author), Christopher Hitchens (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 2003

Few political figures of the twentieth century have aroused as much controversy as the Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky. Trotsky's extraordinary life and extensive writings have left an indelible mark on revolutionary conscience. Yet there was a danger that his name would disappear from history. Originally published in 1954, Deutscher's masterful three-volume biography was the first major publication to counter the powerful Stalinist propaganda machine that had sought to expunge Trotsky from the annals of the Soviet Union. In these pages Trotsky emerges in his real stature, as the most heroic, and ultimately tragic, character of the Russian revolution. The Prophet Armed is the first volume of the trilogy. It traces Trotsky's early years, the formation of his distinctive theory of permanent revolution, his long feud and reconciliation with Lenin and Bolshevism, and his role in the October insurrection of 1917. The volume ends in 1921, when Trotsky, then at the climax of his power, unwittingly sowed the seeds of his own defeat.

Editorial Reviews

Review

[T]he most exciting reading of the year. Surely this must be counted among the greatest biographies in the English language. -- Graham Greene

About the Author

Isaac Deutscher was born in 1907 near Krakow and joined the Polish Communist Party, from which he was expelled in 1932. He then moved to London where he died in 1976. His other books include Stalin and The Unfinished Revolution and further volumes of the Trotsky trilogy, The Prophet Unarmed and The Prophet Outcast, as well as The Non-Jewish Jew.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 580 pages
• Publisher: Verso Books (December 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1859843220
• ISBN-13: 978-1859843222
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,221,772 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great biography about an overlooked man, January 12, 2005

By 

Daniel A. Stone (Schenectady, New York United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Prophet Armed: Trotsky 1879-1921 (Vol. 1 of 3) (Paperback)

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!!

17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars In view of a forthcoming edition., March 20, 2005

By 

C. E. R. Mendonça "Carlos Eduardo Rebello de ... (Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Prophet Armed: Trotsky 1879-1921 (Vol. 1 of 3) (Paperback)

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.

9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent biography. Get this book and the other 2., July 14, 1999

By 

Caligastia145 - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Prophet Armed: Trotsky : 1879-1921 (The Trotsky Trilogy Series) (Hardcover)

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!