Almost two decades have passed since the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe and the USSR.
Robert Service one of our finest historians of modern Russia sets out to examine the history
of communism throughout the world. His uncomfortable conclusion - and an important message for
the twenty-first century - is that although communism in its original form is now dead or dying
the poverty and injustice that enabled its rise are still dangerously alive. Unsettling
compellingly written and brilliantly argued this is a superb work of history and one that
demands to be read. 'Bears all the hallmarks of a classic work of historical literature ... the
true international legacy of communism [is] analysed to magisterial effect in this exhilarating
work' Hwyel Williams New Statesman 'One of the best-ever studies of the subject ... a
remarkable accomplishment' Economist 'An outstanding book written with grace and style' Daily
Telegraph '[A] brilliantly distilled world history of communism ... Confronted by Service's
amazing array of evidence to show that communism could only ever have flourished under
conditions of extreme and all-pervasive oppression only the determinedly softheaded would try
to argue with him' Craig Brown Mail on Sunday
