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    The Rise and Fall of Communism
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    The Rise and Fall of Communism
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    The Rise and Fall of Communism
    Ebook1,289 pages23 hours

    The Rise and Fall of Communism

    By Archie Brown

    4.5/5

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    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    “A work of considerable delicacy and nuance….Brown has crafted a readable and judicious account of Communist history…that is both controversial and commonsensical.”
    —Salon.com

    “Ranging wisely and lucidly across the decades and around the world, this is a splendid book.”
    —William Taubman, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Khrushchev: The Man and His Era

    The Rise and Fall of Communism is the definitive history from the internationally renowned Oxford authority on the subject. Emeritus Professor of Politics at Oxford University, Archie Brown examines the origins of the most important political ideology of the 20th century, its development in different nations, its collapse in the Soviet Union following perestroika, and its current incarnations around the globe. Fans of John Lewis Gaddis, Samuel Huntington, and avid students of history will appreciate the sweep and insight of this epic and astonishing work.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateJun 9, 2009
    ISBN9780061885488
    Unavailable
    The Rise and Fall of Communism
    Author

    Archie Brown

    Archie Brown is Emeritus Professor of Politics at Oxford University. With The Rise and Fall of Communism, he has won the W.J.M. Mackenzie Prize of the Political Studies Association of the UK for best political science book of the year for a second time. He also received that award for one of his earlier books, The Gorbachev Factor. He lives in England.

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    Reviews for The Rise and Fall of Communism

    4.5/5

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    • 4/5
      I read this book to fill the many historical gaps I had. I was not disappointed and this book went a very long way in explaining why things are the way they are in the 21st century. A highly recommended starting point into the dense world of communism in global politics.
    • 3/5
      This book is the product of decades of scholarship, and it shows in the clarity and precision of its analysis. Brown defines his object from the start and gives satisfying, digestible explanations of what kept Communism alive and what killed it. That clarity comes at a cost of breadth and life. Many topics (such as Africa and Latin America) are omitted, and the book is often EXTREMELY boring. As with Priestland this book made me wonder if "Communism" is really an ideal historical topic, or whether the author really should have written a more focused book about what he knows best, which seems to be the postwar Soviet Union.
    • 5/5
      Well-written, well-researched and very informative. The author did a good job of identifying the factors of the rise and fall of communism not only in one country, but in all communist states that ever existed. I also like how objective he is when telling the story. The only problem i had while reading this book were the names. There are just too many names and it can overwhelm you sometimes. However, you can't really consider that as a flaw since it is only natural for a book detailing the entire history of communism in just 617 pages to be crammed with so many characters. I highly recommend this book!
    • 4/5
      If you are looking for a book that tells the story of why countries became Communist, this is the book for you. Archie Brown is the expert on Communism and has written a book that covers all of the aspects and history. He tells where Communism came from, what the appeal was, the difference between the theory and practice of Communism, and the human cost was for those living under Communism. Before this book, you would have had to hobble together several approachable books, but this one tells it all. How it began, how Communists came to power, the internal power struggles in the Soviet Union, how the Eastern Block fell to the Soviet Union by hook and by crook. I think most compelling is an analysis of how Communism can be defeated. It is still an important read since many of the products we use today are manufactured by a Communist Country and that country is responsible for some of the world's worst atrocities. Passages: "Joining the party was experienced as a momentous event, equivalent in it's intensity, as numerous more testify, to taking a decision for Christ, and it is indicative of this that new recruits, according to a phrase in common currency, were those who had seen the light. By the same token full-time organizers--translated rather than elected to their posts-- were obeying a vocation or call" p126 quoting from Douglas Hydes boo I Believed. One of many insights about Communists common during the 1930s. One of the most moranle was The God That Failed. It also reminds me of a scene from Europa, Europa where they are attempting to indoctrinate children away from God. They ask a boy to ask God to send him chocolate down from Heaven. When he asks nothing happens. When the teacher asks him to ask Stalin for chocolate he does and candy falls from the ceiling. It's very cult like I'm it's indoctrination and just as secretive about it's inner operations.The final goal was the justification for all the toil and hardship that might be encountered along the way. Once that goal was abandoned, Communist regimes were in danger of being judged--and found wanting--on the basis of their capacity to deliver more immediate results. Without the goal of Communism, the 'leading role of the party would become far harder to legitimisze 111