Revolution: An Intellectual History

This book reinterprets the history of nineteenth and twentieth-century revolutions by connecting theories with the existential trajectories of revolutionary intellectuals, analyzing the entanglement between revolution and communism, and offering a new intellectual history of the revolutionary past.

Format: Hardback
Length: 480 pages
Publication date: 19 October 2021
Publisher: Verso Books

This captivating book offers a fresh perspective on the history of nineteenth and twentieth-century revolutions by weaving together a constellation of dialectical images. These images include Marx's powerful locomotives of history, Alexandra Kollontai's sexually liberated bodies, Lenin's mummified body, Auguste Blanqui's barricades and red flags, the Paris Commune's demolition of the Vendome Column, and many more. By seamlessly connecting these theories with the existential trajectories of the thinkers who elaborated them, the book paints a diverse portrait of revolutionary intellectuals, ranging from Marx and Bakunin to Luxemburg and the Bolsheviks, from Mao and Ho Chi Minh to José Carlos Mariátegui, C.L.R. James, and other rebellious spirits from the South. Moreover, it delves into the intricate entanglement between revolution and communism, which played a pivotal role in shaping the history of the twentieth century. This unique approach merges ideas and representations, giving equal importance to theoretical and iconographic sources. By presenting a new intellectual history of the revolutionary past, this book provides valuable insights for our troubled present.

Weight: 668g
Dimension: 164 x 240 x 38 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781839763335