Merlin Press Ltd. EUROPE

THEORY AND PRACTICE OF ITALIAN COMMUNISM Vol 1

Alastair Davidson

Begins with the background of the working class and peasant struggles of the 1900s and the early years of political and trade union organization. Covers the complicated political development of the early 1920s and ends with the watershed of 1941 and the foreshadowing of the Resistance.
212x 137mm 302pp
ISBN. 0850362652
1982 Paperback
Price: £18.95

REVOLUTION AND COUNTER REVOLUTION IN PORTUGAL

Martin Kayman

On 25 April 1974 a group of Portuguese junior officers took power in a bloodless coup which signalled the start of a daring experiment for a 'transition to socialism' which brought the Communist Pary close to national power and put the notion of 'popular power' on the practical political agenda of the Left.
This book explains the origins of this crisis and surveys political change in 1974 and after. 223x142mm 276pp
085036373X
1987 Paperback
Price: £12.95

REVOLUTION AND COUNTER REVOLUTION IN PORTUGAL

Martin Kayman

See above for details.

0850363411
1987 Hardback
Price: £30.00

LENINISM UNDER LENIN

by Marcel Liebman

This book, a winner of the Isaac Deutscher Memorial Prize, is an antidote to the view that Stalinism is synonymous with Leninism. Liebmann highlights democratic dimensions in Lenin's thinking as it developed over 25 years.

'I have not come across anything which captures so well the complexities of Lenin's positions.' Ralph Miliband.
'The author of this historical study of Lenin's political activities and theories combines a sympathetic understanding of Lenin's positions with a critical approach making it one of the most informative books on Lenin that have been written.' Labour Research.
214x134mm 477pp
085036261X
1975/1980 Paperback
Price: £12.95

THE DESTRUCTION OF REASON

Georg Lukács

Translated by Peter Palmer.
A survey of the intellectual origins of Nazi thought and of German historical and sociological theory.
'It is a work of prodigious scholarship ... the work of a genuine intellectual.' The Sunday Times.
227x142mm 826pp
ISBN. 0850362474
1980/1962 Hardback
Price: £40.00

AUGUST THALHEIMER AND GERMAN COMMUNISM
Edited by Ted Crawford, Paul Flewers and Esther Leslie

An introduction to debates within the German and international communist movement touching on the united front, anti-fascism and trade union work; a series of articles on the German Communist Party and its relationship with Moscow and the German working class. Included are three substantial documents written by August Thalheimer, the party's main theoretician during the 1920s. Thalheimer was one of most original Marxist thinkers to emerge in Europe. Here, he analyses the proceedings of the Fifth Congress of the Communist International, subjects the Comintern's draft programme of 1928 to a sustained critique, and looks critically at the idea that there could have been a workers' revolution in Germany in 1923. In so doing, he discusses many key issues of revolutionary politics, including the united front, trade union work and anti-fascist activity. Also an analysis of the theories of the controversial Italian writer Bruno Rizzi.

Contents: Editorial, John McIlroy: Al Richardson (1941-2003)- an Appreciation; Ottokar Luban, Rosa at a Loss: The KPD Leadership and the Berlin Uprising of January 1919: Legend and Reality; Karl Retzlaw, From the Kapp Putsch to the March Action; August Thalheimer, 1923: A Missed Opportunity?- The Legend of the German October and the Real History of 1923; August Thalheimer, The Fifth Congress of the Communist International and its Results; August Thalheimer, The Strategy and Tactics of the Communist International; Alexander Vatlin, The Programme Discussion in the Communist International; Paolo Sensini, Beyond Marxism, Anarchism and Liberalism: Bruno Rizzi's Scientific and Revolutionary Path.

Revolutionary History Vol 8 No 4, 2004, ISSN 0953-2382 includes regular features: Editorial; Work in Progress; Book Reviews; Obituaries; Reader's Notes.

A5 316 pages
ISBN. 9781952364877
2004
Price: £14.95

THE BALKAN SOCIALIST TRADITION
Balkan Socialism and the Balkan Federation, 1871-1915
Edited by Al Richardson

Essays and debates on the 'Eastern Question' within the Second International. Readers will discover how the socialists of the day attempted to deal with the complexities of the national question in the Balkans within the context of the disintegration of the Ottoman Empire, imperialist expansion into the Balkan Peninsula, the Balkan Wars and the First World War. The most important conclusion reached was that a Balkan Federation was the only means by which the national question could possibly be resolved - a lesson which some have yet to learn.

Contents: Editorial 1. The Origins of the Balkan Socialist Tradition: Between Populism and Marxism 2. Marxism and the Eastern Question: Challenging the Orthodoxy 1896-97 3. Bulgarian Socialism and the Macedonian National Liberation Movement, 1903-08 4. The Revolution in Turkey and the Balkan Federation 5. The Annexation of Bosnia by Austria-Hungary in 1908 6. The Balkan Federation and Balkan Social Democracy 7. The Balkan Wars of 1912-13 and the Balkan Federation 8. The First World War and the Balkan Federation There are also the usual items of Book Reviews, Work in Progress, Obituaries, Readers Notes and Letters.

Revolutionary History Vol 8 No 3, 2003, ISSN 0953-2382 includes regular features: Editorial; Work in Progress; Book Reviews; Obituaries; Reader's Notes.

A5 316 pages
ISBN. 9781952364853
2003

Price: £14.95

EYEWITNESS TO DISASTER
The German Labour Movement and the Rise of Hitler, 1929-33
Edited by Al Richardson

Why was the left so weak in the face of the rising Nazi tide? These essays present contemporary reporting and comment from leftist activists. The key essay here is Hippolyte Etchebehere's vivid eyewitness account of the last months of the Weimar Republic, 'The Tragedy of the German Proletariat'. Etchebehere, an Argentine Marxist, arrived in Berlin in November 1932. He describes the terrible plight of the German workers, and how their fighting spirit was dulled by the timidity of the Socialist Party and trade union leaders, and diverted by the sectarianism of the Communist Party. He shows how the workers' organisations underestimated the Fascist threat. There are also four reports written in Germany in 1929-30 by the US Trotskyist, Sam Gordon, published in The Militant in the USA. Both Etchebehere's and Gordon's accounts are introduced by brief biographical essays by their widows, which give personal and political reminiscences of these militants. There is an introductory essay and explanatory notes for all the major personalities and events mentioned.

Contents: Editorial; Mildred Gordon: Sam Gordon (1910-1982) - Scientific Socialist; Sam Gordon: Reports from Germany, 1929 - 1930; Mike Jones: A Comment on Sam Gordon's Reports; Mika Etchebehere: Hyppolite Etchebehere, called Juan Rustico; Hyppolite Etchebehere: The Tragedy of the German Proletariat.

Revolutionary History Vol 5 No 1, 1993, ISSN 0953-2382 includes regular features: Editorial; Work in Progress; Book Reviews; Obituaries; Reader's Notes.

A5 160 pages
ISBN. 9780955112744
1993
Price: £12.00

GERMANY 1918-23
From the November Revolution to the Failed October
Edited by Al Richardson

These essays throw light on how the communist left campaigned, organised and interacted with the Communist international after the imperial Kaiser state was overthrown in 1918. They offer a wide range of material relating to the revolutionary upheavals in Germany upto 1923: an account of the establishment of the Communist International by one of its key operatives, Jakob Reich; an account by the leading German Communist August Thalheimer of how his party successfully used the united front tactic in the early 1920s to forge working class unity; some striking vignettes by Victor Serge of Germany in 1923; the preface to Trotsky's Lessons of October by the dissident German Communist Paul Levi; a political appraisal of Paul Levi, the transcript of a discussion in 1933 between Trotsky and the prominent German left winger Jacob Walcher; and an interview by Rudi Dutschke with a former activist of the Communist Workers Party of Germany, who was also a member of the Executive Committee of the Communist International. This issue also includes a lengthy analysis by Mike Jones of the relationship between the Communist Party of Germany and the Communist International during the crisis period of 1923. Each article has been fully annotated.

Contents: Editorial; Jakob Reich: The First Years of the Communist International; Arthur Rosenberg: The Kapp Putsch and the Working Class; Udo Winkel: Paul Levi and his significance for the communist movement in Germany; Paul Levi: Introduction to Trotsky's "The Lessons of October"; Ernest Rogers: A comment on Paul Levi's article; August Thalheimer: The struggle for the United Front in Germany; Jacob Walcher: Notes on the conversations between Trotsky and Walcher 17-20 August 1933; Mike Jones: Germany 1923; Victor Serge: Observations in Germany 1923; Bernard Reichenbach: The KAPD in retrospect.

Revolutionary History Vol 5 No 2, 1994, ISSN 0953-2382 includes regular features: Editorial; Work in Progress; Book Reviews; Obituaries; Reader's Notes.

A5 192 pages
ISBN. 9780955112751
1994
Price: £12.00

THE ITALIAN LEFT
Through Fascism, War and Revolution, Trotskyism and Left Communism in Italy
Edited by Al Richardson

The predominance of the Italian Communist Party and its promotion of the ideas of Gramsci have resulted in much of the history of the revolutionary left in Italy being obscured if not totally hidden. These texts correct this imbalance by presenting for the first time in the English language a series of essays which describe the rise and development of the Italian Trotskyist and Left Communist movements from the late 1920s through to the aftermath of the Second World War, as they fought in exceedingly difficult circumstances to maintain the revolutionary Marxist tradition against the Stalinist degeneration of the Communist International. Many of the contributions have been written by Paulo Casciola, a prominent historian of the Italian labour movement.

Contents: Editorial; Paulo Casciola: Alfonso Leonetti: a Turncoat Trotskyist; Alfonso Leonetti: Why I Am Rejoining the Italian Communist Party; Paulo Casciola: Nicolo do Bartolomeo (1901-1946); Paulo Casciola: Pietro Tresso and the early years of Italian Trotskyism; Paulo Casciola: Blasco's people; Paulo Casciola: Some Historical Vignettes; Pierre Broué: The Italian Communist Party, the War and the Revolution; Arturo Peregalli: The Left Wing Opposition in Italy during the Period of Resistance; Paulo Casciola: Trotskyism and the Revolution in Italy (1943-44); Provisional European Secretariat of the Fourth International: Manifesto to the Italian Workers, Peasants and Soldiers; Paulo Casciola: The Troubled Relations Between the Communist Workers Party and the Fourth International.

Revolutionary History Vol 5 No 4, 1994, ISSN 0953-2382 includes regular features: Editorial; Work in Progress; Book Reviews; Obituaries; Reader's Notes.

A5 256 pages
ISBN. 9780955112775
1994
Price: £12.95

A PARADISE FOR CAPITALISM?
Class and Leadership in Twentieth Century Belgium
Edited by Al Richardson

Looking at the appalling conditions endured by the Belgian working class, Karl Marx called Belgium a paradise for capitalism. Nevertheless, class struggle in this small country has often been at a much higher level than in many of its bigger European neighbours.

Belgium is also of interest to Socialists and students of the European labour movement because it is one of the few countries in which the Trotskyist movement enjoyed substantial support amongst key sections of the working class, in particular the miners and dockers. This book investigates the vicissitudes of the Trotskyist movement in Belgium from its formation in the late 1920s through the 1930s and 1940s, and includes material by Leon Trotsky that has not previously appeared in an English translation.
We also include the first English translation of a vivid account of the general strike that gripped Belgium in 1960-61.

Contents: A Contribution to the History of the Belgian Trotskyists, Catherine Leghien; The Parti Socialiste Révolutionnaire, Pierre Broué; Letters on Belgium, Leon Trotsky; Report on the PCR, Harry Ratner; Some Historical Vignettes; The Belgium General Strike 1960-61, Serge Simon; Adrift in the Rapids of Racism.

Revolutionary History Vol 7 No 1, 1997, ISSN 0953-2382 includes regular features: Editorial; Work in Progress; Book Reviews; Obituaries; Reader's Notes.

230 x 145 mm. 254 pages
ISBN. 9781899438297
1997
Price: £12.95

REMEMBERING 1956
Edited by John McIlroy

In 1956 Khrushchev broke the magic that had surrounded Uncle Joe Stalin, and sent shock waves through the communist movement. This collection considers these waves- focussing on their impact on the British CP and considers other events in 1956, notably the Hungarian insurrection. John McIlroy documents the expulsion of the British Communist historian Brian Pearce; Paul Flewers surveys the broad range of views about Khrushchev's speech in the British press; Steve Parsons relates what happened in the Communist Party of Great Britain; Christian Hogsbjerg probes the writings of CLR James; Ian Birchall describes how the French left dealt with the Stalinists' discomfort; Tobias Abse demolishes the myth of the Italian Communist Party leader Palmiro Togliatti as an opponent of Stalinism; and Harry Ratner recalls how the Trotskyists approached the Stalinists.

Contents: John McIlroy, On the Fiftieth Anniversary of 1956; Paul Flewers, The Unexpected Denunciation: The Reception of Khrushchev's 'Secret Speech' in Britain; Steve Parsons, Nineteen Fifty-Six: What Happened in the Communist Party of Great Britain?; John McIlroy, A Communist Historian in 1956: Brian Pearce and the Crisis of British Stalinism; Christian Hogsbjerg, Beyond the Boundary of Leninism? CLR James and 1956; Ian Birchall, Nineteen Fifty-Six and the French Left; Tobias Abse, Palmiro Togliatti and the Italian Communist Party in 1956; Harry Ratner, Remembering 1956; Ernest Mandel, Poznan and its Aftermath; Shane Mage, The Discussion of the Crisis of Stalinism at the Recent NEC Meeting; The Marxist-Leninist's Song.

Revolutionary History Vol 9 No 3, 2006, ISSN 0953-2382 includes regular features: Editorial; Work in Progress; Book Reviews; Obituaries; Reader's Notes.

A5 276 pages
ISBN. 9780955112720
2006
Price: £14.95

THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION OF 1905
Change Through Struggle
Edited by Ted Crawford

A study of a year of revolution, with observations and reminiscences of activists who were directly involved in events. Collected and translated into English for the first time by Pete Glatter, these contributions show how the Russian workers were politically transformed through their involvement in revolutionary struggle, how women often took a militant lead, how Russian workers showed their solidarity with their Polish comrades and opposed the anti-Jewish pogroms, and how the revolutionary parties of Russia oriented themselves to the new and often unexpected developments. Also included are three original articles by Rosa Luxemburg.

Contents: Editorial; Pete Glatter, Introduction; The Road to Bloody Sunday, introduced by Pete Glatter; A Revolution Takes Shape, introduced by Pete Glatter; The Decisive Days, introduced by Pete Glatter and Philip Ruff; Rosa Luxemburg and the 1905 Revolution, introduced by Mark Thomas; Mike Haynes, Patterns of Conflict in the 1905 Revolution.

Revolutionary History Vol 9 No 1, 2004, ISSN 0953-2382 includes regular features: Editorial; Work in Progress; Book Reviews; Obituaries; Reader's Notes.

A5 316 pages
ISBN. 9780955112706
2004

Price: £14.95

STALINISM, REVOLUTION AND COUNTER REVOLUTION
Edited by Ted Crawford

Essays explore the development and nature of Stalinism: the relationship of various political groups and personalities with Moscow, accounts of 'Comrade Thomas', the shadowy Comintern agent of the 1920s who drifted away in response to Josef Stalin's rise to power, and of Palmiro Togliatti, the Italian Communist Party leader who responded to that process by becoming an especially loyal Stalinist apparatchik.

Contents: Editorial Alexander Vatlin, 'Comrade Thomas' and the Secret Activity of the Comintern in Germany 1919-1925; Andy Durgan, Marxism, War and Revolution: Trotsky and the POUM; Tobias Abse, Palmiro Togliatti: Loyal Servant of Stalin; Charles Wesley Ervin, Two Pages From Indian Trotskyist History; John Mcllroy, The Revolutionary Odyssey of John Lawrence; Ian Birchall, Daniel Guerin's Dialogue with Leninism; Clara Zetkin, Letter to Lenin; Alan Woodward, Russia 1905: Revolutionary History or Debatable Politics?

Revolutionary History Vol 9 No 2, 2005, ISSN 0953-2382 includes regular features: Editorial; Work in Progress; Book Reviews; Obituaries; Reader's Notes.

A5 316 pages
ISBN. 9780955112713
2005
Price: £14.95

THE SPANISH CIVIL WAR
The View from the Left
Edited by Al Richardson

This book presents a left which, in the midst of civil war and revolution, chose to oppose both fascism and the popular front. The revolution in Spain was overturned by Stalinists and their allies. The Popular Front government of Doctor Negrin facilitated the destruction of collectives and permitted the work of Russian secret services, the murder and torture that demoralised workers and peasants.
This book presents a spectrum of contemporary left viewpoints, introduced and annotated in detail.
An introductory essay by Andy Durgan surveys the development of Trotskyism and of the POUM.
978-0-85036-598-6
402 pages.
First published 1992 by Socialist Platform
Reprinted 2007 by The Merlin Press
Price: £18.95

TROTSKYISM IN POLAND
Edited by Al Richardson

The Marxist left in Poland struggled through precarious circumstances from the 1920s onwards. This anthology presents selected polemical essays.

Contents: Editorial; Ludwik Hass: Trotskyism in Poland up to 1945; Ludwik Hass: Against all odds - true to the ideals of his youth; B. Drobner, W. Kielecki & H. Swoboda: Draft Programme of the Polish Socialist Party; Leon Trotsky: Entry into the Socialist in Poland; Bolshevik-Leninists of Poland: Open Letter to Members of the Polish Communist Party; Notes on the Life of Ludwik Hass; Grzegorz Soltysiak: The Hass Group; Amnesty International and the case of Ludwik Hass; Ludwik Hass: Open Letter to Ozjask Szechter; Solidarity's Tragedy is its Advisers - An interview with Ludwik Hass; Ludwik Hass: Breaking with the Old Version of the History of the CPSU and the USSR

Revolutionary History Vol 6 No 1, 1995, ISSN 0953-2382 includes regular features: Editorial; Work in Progress; Book Reviews; Obituaries; Reader's Notes.

A5 224 pages
ISBN. 9780955112782
1995
Price: £12.00

BACKGROUND TO CONTEMPORARY GREECE: Volume 1

Edited by Marion Sarafis and Martin Eve

Essays providing an introduction to Greek society, history and politics. The first volume has essays on literature, language, economics, women, historiography; the second volume review historical developments in the twentieth century: Great Idea and Balkan Union, the CP, the Civil war 1946-1949, dictatorship 1967-1974, and the conflict with Turkey.
Vol 1 214x134mm 152pp
0850363934
1990 Paperback
Rights: USA and Canada - Barnes & Noble
Price: £12.50

BACKGROUND TO CONTEMPORARY GREECE: Volume 2

Edited by Marion Sarafis and Martin Eve

See above.

Vol 2 214x134mm 359pp
0850363942
1990 Paperback
Price: £12.50

UNDERSTANDING THE FRENCH REVOLUTION

Albert Soboul

Essays on the development of the revolution. Soboul examines concepts of enlightened despotism, class structure, capitalism, feudalism, popular democracy. He considers the Babeuf conspiracy, Red Priests and loyalties to the nation and to regions.

'The volume contains some excellent and sensitive writing.' New Statesman and Society.
215x 135mm 334pp
0850363810
1988 Paperback
Price: £12.95

BEYOND THE FRONTIER
The Politics of a Failed Mission in Bulgaria 1944

by E. P. Thompson

Frank Thompson parachuted into southern Yugoslavia as part of a badly prepared British Special Operations Executive mission. Exhausted and betrayed, he went through a show trial in Sofia, and was shot in uniform, in June 1944. He was only 23.

'Has several sharp things to say about the manufacture of myths to suit political convenience.' MRD Foot, Times Literary Supplement

214x134mm map 110pp
ISBN. 0850364612
1997 Paperback
Rights: USA & Canada - Stanford University Press
Price: £9.95

BEYOND THE FRONTIER
The Politics of a Failed Mission in Bulgaria 1944

by E. P. Thompson

See above

214x134mm map 110pp
0850364574
1997 Hardback
Price: £20.00

HOW AND WHY THE PEOPLE'S LIBERATION STRUGGLE OF GREECE MET WITH DEFEAT

by Svetozar Vukmanovic (General Tempo)

As Tito's emissary Vukmanovic tried to persuade the Greek Communist Party to follow an independent path. This is a polemic, written in 1949 against the 'liquidationists' who led the Greek CP to defeat.
223x142mm 144pp
ISBN. 0850363799
1985/1950 Paperback
Price: £9.95

THE IDEAS OF VICTOR SERGE
A Life as a Work of Art

Edited by Susan Weissman

Victor Serge devoted his life and his brilliant pen to the revolution which for him knew no frontiers. An anarchist turned bolshevik, he was unorthodox by nature, often a heretic but never a renegade. This important collection presents a still insufficiently known revolutionary figure through testimonials and essays on his literary praxis. [In association with Critique]
209x145mm 258pp
ISBN. 0850364833
1997 Paperback
Price: £12.00