To Overthrow the World : The Rise and Fall and Rise of Communism

Sean McMeekin

ISBN 10: 1541601963 / ISBN 13: 9781541601963

Published by Basic Books Sep 2024, 2024

About this Item

Neuware - From an award-winning historian, a new global history of Communism. "With vivid prose, McMeekin punctures many myths of communism … This is history as a warning." Washington ExaminerWinner of the Hayek Book Prize When the USSR collapsed in 1991, the world was certain that Communism was dead. Today, three decades later, it is clear that it was not. While Russia may no longer be Communist, Communism and sympathy for Communist ideas have proliferated across the globe. In To Overthrow the World, Sean McMeekin investigates the evolution of Communism from a seductive ideal of a classless society into the ruling doctrine of tyrannical regimes. Tracing Communism s ascent from theory to practice, McMeekin ranges from Karl Marx s writings to the rise and fall of the USSR under Stalin to Mao s rise to power in China to the acceleration of Communist or Communist-inspired policies around the world in the twenty-first century. McMeekin argues, however, that despite the endurance of Communism, it remains deeply unpopular as a political form. Where it has arisen, it has always arisen by force. Blending historical narrative with cutting-edge scholarship, To Overthrow the World revolutionizes our understanding of the evolution of Communism an idea that seemingly cannot die.

Seller Inventory # 9781541601963

Bibliographic Details

• Title: To Overthrow the World : The Rise and Fall and Rise of Communism
• Publisher: Basic Books Sep 2024
• Publication Date: 2024
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1541601963
• ISBN 13: 9781541601963
• Binding: Buch
• Condition: Neu
• Dimensions: 238W x 153H x 45D millimeters 238 millimeters width by 153 millimeters height by 45 millimeters depth
• Weight: 792 grams

About this title

Synopsis

From an award-winning historian, a new global history of Communism. 

“With vivid prose, McMeekin punctures many myths of communism … This is history as a warning.” —Washington Examiner 

Winner of the Hayek Book Prize

When the USSR collapsed in 1991, the world was certain that Communism was dead. Today, three decades later, it is clear that it was not. While Russia may no longer be Communist, Communism and sympathy for Communist ideas have proliferated across the globe.

In To Overthrow the World, Sean McMeekin investigates the evolution of Communism from a seductive ideal of a classless society into the ruling doctrine of tyrannical regimes. Tracing Communism’s ascent from theory to practice, McMeekin ranges from Karl Marx’s writings to the rise and fall of the USSR under Stalin to Mao’s rise to power in China to the acceleration of Communist or Communist-inspired policies around the world in the twenty-first century. McMeekin argues, however, that despite the endurance of Communism, it remains deeply unpopular as a political form. Where it has arisen, it has always arisen by force.

Blending historical narrative with cutting-edge scholarship, To Overthrow the World revolutionizes our understanding of the evolution of Communism—an idea that seemingly cannot die.

About the Author

Sean McMeekin is a professor of history at Bard College. The award-winning author of several books, including Stalin’s War, The Russian Revolution, July 1914, and The Ottoman Endgame, McMeekin lives in Clermont, New York.