Synopsis
Today communism seems just a terrible memory, a nightmare as horrific as the Holocaust or the slaughter in the First World War. Was it only a decade ago that stone-faced men still presided over "workers' paradises" in the name of "the people", while hundreds of millions endured grinding poverty and mind-controlling servitude? Or that the world seemed under threat from revolution backed by the threat of nuclear annihilation? In the 1970s, with the fall of South Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos, the march of Marxism-Leninism seemed irresistible. Two decades later the experiment had collapsed, leaving perhaps 100 million dead, and economic devastation spanning continents. Even China now embraces free market economics. Only in a few backwaters does communism endure, as obsolete as rust-belt industry. This book is a narrative history of that defining experience. It weighs up the balance sheet: why did communism occur largely in countries wrenched from feudalism or colonialism in the 20th century rather than - as Marx had predicted - in developed countries groaning under a parasitic middle class? Were coercion and state planning in fact the only way forward for backward countries? What was communism's appeal - not least among many intelligent observers in the West? Why did it grow so fast, and collapse so suddenly? Robert Harvey sets out the whole panorama of idealism, cruelty and suffering, and provides an intriguing analysis.
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Review
'Harvey's historical accounts are fluid and colourful, and his analysis is succinct' (Anna Applebaum, TELEGRAPH 20030628)
'No one makes historical narrative move with more energy and élan than Robert Harvey, who has, in addition, a highly developed sense of human interest' (The Scotsman 20030628)
'Fast moving and well written' (Contemporary Review 20040101)
'Pacey ... engaging and brisk in its broad sweep' (Daily Telegraph 20040221)
'Pacey, engaging and brisk in its broad sweep.' (The Telegraph 20040221)
About the Author
Robert Harvey has been a columnist for 'The Daily Telegraph', an assistant editor for 'The Economist' and an MP serving on the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee. His book 'Liberators: Latin America's Struggle for Independence' was described as 'an exhilarating and wildly enjoyable ride from start to finish' by Simon Sebay-Montefiore. Raymond Seitz, US ex-Ambassador to Britain said of 'A Few Bloody Noses: The American War of Independence', 'Harvey wields his pen like a sabre, slashing with gusto at the cant and received wisdom.' He lives in London and Wales.
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