The Red Flag: A History of Communism [Hardcover]

David Priestland (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 20, 2009

Communism was one of the most powerful political and intellectual movements the world has ever seen. At the height of their influence, Communists controlled more than a third of the earth’s surface. But perhaps more astonishing than its rapid rise and extraordinary reach was Communism’s sudden, devastating collapse in November of 1989. In The Red Flag, Oxford professor David Priestland tells the epic story of a movement that has taken root in dozens of countries across two hundred years, from its birth after the French Revolution to its ideological maturity in nineteenth-century Germany to its rise to dominance (and subsequent fall) in the twentieth century. Beginning with the first modern Communists in the age of Robespierre, Priestland examines the motives of thinkers and leaders including Marx, Engels, Lenin, Stalin, Castro, Che Guevara, Mao, Ho Chi Minh, Gorbachev, and many others. He also explores the experience of what it meant to live under Communism for its millions of subjects. At a time when global capitalism is in crisis and powerful new political forces have arisen to confront Western democracy, The Red Flag is essential reading if we are to apply the lessons of the past to navigating the future.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Priestland, a lecturer in modern history at Oxford, delivers almost 700 pages of stormy history, but the pace never flags. Underlying the narrative is a nuanced understanding of communism as an ideology that took on different forms (romantic, radical, modernist) depending on local and historical context. But all were inherently unstable. According to Priestland, the Jacobins of the French Revolution planted the seeds of modern communism. They claimed to be building a modern state on principles of true, universal equality while treating those who disagreed as enemies of equality. In the following century, Marx proclaimed communism's scientific basis and the inevitability of global revolution. The 1917 Russian revolution caught everyone's attention, but despite universalist rhetoric, Soviet Communism became nationalistic and technocratic. This violated Marxist principles, but appealed to poor, rural nations after WWII. From Russia, Priestland moves to Latin America, Cuba and Africa, covering Communist guerrilla uprisings and urban terror, and the eventual lagging of economic development in the Soviet empire and China. The former collapsed and the latter has discarded Marxist ideology. Detailed and scholarly but written in lively prose, this is a rich, satisfying account of the most successful utopian political movement in history. (Nov.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

“The best and the most accessible one-volume history of communism now available . . . A far-reaching, vividly written account.” —Foreign Affairs

"Written in lively prose, this is a rich, satisfying account of the most successful utopian political movement in history." —Publishers Weekly

“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

“David Priestland offers a magnificent account of the rise and fall of Communism in the twentieth century on a global scale. He combines penetrating analysis with a strong sense of historical development, providing consistently sharp and original insights. He writes in a stylish and engaging fashion and in a spirit that is empathetic yet always critical. The use of cultural history is especially innovative and provides the reader with a vivid sense of everyday life in Communist societies. Altogether this is a remarkable book that challenges stale and stereotypical ways of thinking about the failed Communist experiment.” —Steve Smith, professor of history at European University Institute and author of Revolution and the People in Russia and China

“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 rigor, 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, author of The Frock-Coated Communist: The Revolutionary Life of Friedrich Engels

“In place of demonologies and apologies, The Red Flag is a real history of modern Communism from the beginning to the present. It is an extraordinary story told with sympathy and with an incisive use of significant detail. This is a work of formidable scholarship but also a very readable book. David Priestland makes a remarkable use of novels, plays, and films to bring to life the events he describes and the states of mind that inspired them.” —Gareth Stedman Jones, professor of political science at the University of Cambridge

Product Details

• Hardcover: 720 pages
• Publisher: Grove Press; First Edition edition (November 20, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802119247
• ISBN-13: 978-0802119247
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.5 x 2.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #192,372 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unexpectedly Lively And Accessible, February 20, 2010

By 

John D. Cofield - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Red Flag: A History of Communism (Hardcover)

I admit that I purchased The Red Flag more out of a sense of duty than eagerness. I needed to better understand the history of Communism so I could explain it to my students more competently. My previous reading on the subject had been heavy on theory, and terminology like "dialectical materialism" just doesn't convey much to me.

So I was delighted to find The Red Flag was written in a fresh, approachable style that leaves out most of the jargon while doing full justice to the drama. Beginning with the French Revolution, the author traces the development of socialism/communism through the tumultuous Napoleonic period and afterwards, focussing of course on the career of Karl Marx, then continues through the nineteenth century and the development of Leninism. In the twentieth century the story divides, primarily discussing the application of Marxism in Russia but also giving full coverage to variations in Europe, Latin America, Africa, and Asia.

David Priestland's many biographical vignettes on the careers of some well known figures like Lenin and Stalin as well as less familiar names like Togliatti are interesting, and his discussions of how different varieties of Marxism like Maoism developed are illuminating without getting bogged down in unnecessary detail. Most importantly, Priestland manages to convey the excitement and idealism,the sense that a fairer, more equal society was possible, which facilitated the growth and development of communism.

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Impressively Written and Researched, June 14, 2010

By 

Gunlover - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Red Flag: A History of Communism (Hardcover)

Most political histories written to encompass the evolution of an idea tend to follow two paths: They focus on the idea as it develops in a single country or region, or they attempt to offer a comprehensive discussion of the idea as it evolves on an international scale. The first path often leads to over-specialization and obsession with miscellanea; the second path often results in shallowness and a lack of intellectual rigor.


David Priestland's book "The Red Flag" avoids both pitfalls. Priestland does an admirable job of tracing the lineage of the modern Communist movement. He begins with a discussion of the radical democratic ideals of the French Revolution, followed by a biographical sketch of Karl Marx and a discussion of Marx's key notions of labor, freedom, and alienation.

Priestland then breaks Marxism down into three main historical strains: the "Romantic"; the "Modernist"; and the "Radical." Priestland associates the Romantic strain with the early works of Marx, most notably "The Paris Manuscripts", the Modernist strain with Lenin and the early Bolsheviks, and the Radical strain with Mao and the Cultural Revolution in China. Priestland then proceeds to trace the development of these strands of Marxist thought as they developed according to the various social and political contexts of the various countries that claimed adherence to Marxian principles.

While it can be argued that this tripartite classification is somewhat arbitrary in its execution, I think the reader can excuse Priestland for such an undertaking. By adhering to this classification, Priestland is able to sort through the intimidating abundance of historical data and present it to the reader in a clear and intelligible way.

Finally, Priestland is to be congratulated for his dispassionate analysis of the international Communist movement. Too often such histories devolve into right-wing moral hackery of the crudest sort (e.g., anything written by Paul Johnson), or provide slavish excuses for the atrocities committed in the name of Marxism (e.g., Harpal Brar). Priestland is to be commended for both exposing the atrocities that occurred under various totalitarian regimes during the 20th Century, such as the USSR under Stalin and China under Mao, yet making it clear that such regimes should not be viewed as an "inevitable" outgrowth of Marxist thought. Priestland makes his case succinctly in this quote from the epilogue of "The Red Flag": "We do need to make moral judgments about historical crimes, but we also need to explain. Also, it is one thing to indulge a Brecht; another a Stalin or a Pol Pot." (p. 571)

In short, Priestland's book is comprehensive and well-written. Highly recommended.

23 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant History of a Movement, December 21, 2009

By 

Kevin M. Johnson "kizevin" (FL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Red Flag: A History of Communism (Hardcover)

I recently read this book. I've read many histories of the movement, the most popular being Robert Service's "Comrades!" I was somewhat disappointed with Comrades! Not so with Red Flag. My major qualm with histories of Communism are that they usually spend all or most of their time on the USSR. Now, this is an important subject and should be studied, but I'm a bit more interested in everything else. I want to know the ideological roots of the movement, how Marx came up with his ideas, who were Marx's peers, who else was advocating for radical socialism? I also want to learn about the lesser-known ultra-left movements around the world in Africa, Latin America, Asia, Europe, etc.

This book had it all. It starts with a very good Prologue about what the book will encompass and goes from there. There is a chapter dedicated to Marx and his contemporaries. There is another chapter dedicated to guerrilla movements in Africa and Asia. There is another chapter about the Popular Front period. This book was fantastic and I think it really sheds some light on a movement that seems so mystical and far away to us now.

Whether or not your politics agree with Marx, you must admit that his ideas (and those of his peers) had an enormous impact on the history of the 19th and 20th centuries. The way we live our lives today would be much different without them. In order to understand the 20th century, you must come to understand the movement that captivated so many and, at one point, was the ruling ideology of 1/3 of the planet. The Red Flag goes a long way into helping us understand the Communist movement.

For those of us born in the twilight of the Soviet Union (I was born in 1986), we don't remember it. We don't understand the movement or what it was about. I grew up not having the fear of the Cold War hanging over my head - the fear of the Reds. Not only is the Red Flag a history of the communist movement, but it is also a history of reactions to the movement. Priestland reveals several mistakes made by successive US administrations during and before the Cold War. It makes for a very interesting read not just in terms of history but also politics and philosophy.

I only gave it four stars because it does suffer from the "Soviet syndrome" - Stalin takes up a large portion of the book. But that's OK, I expected it and it had less than usual. I definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in Communism.

Oh - and one final thing. The author DOES distinguish between socialism and communism - which other authors (*cough*Muravchik*cough*) do not.