His extraordinary life and extensive writings have left an indelible mark on the revolutionary consciousness. Yet there was once a danger that his life and influence would be relegated to the footnotes of history. Published over the course of ten years, beginning in 1954, Deutscher’s magisterial three-volume biography turned back the tide of Stalin’s propaganda, and has since been praised by everyone from Tony Blair to Graham Greene. In this definitive work, now reissued in a single volume, Trotsky’s true stature emerges as the most heroic, and ultimately tragic, character of the Russian Revolution.

    The author draws on interviews and on other kinds of now unavailable documents to produce a work that remains a unique view of early Soviet Russia.Originally published in 1987.The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These paperback editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

    Two quotes illustrate this. The 1st is by Larry Collins, 'Richard Sorge's brilliant espionage work saved Stalin & the Soviet Union from defeat in the fall of 1941, probably prevented a Nazi victory in WWII & thereby assured the dimensions of the world we live in today.' The 2nd is by Frederick Forsyth, 'The spies in history who can say from their graves, the information I supplied to my masters, for better or worse, altered the history of our planet, can be counted on the fingers of one hand. Richard Sorge was in that group.' Masquerading as a Nazi journalist, Richard Sorge worked undetected as head of a Red Army spy ring until he was arrested & executed in Japan during the WWII. Such an astonishing story as his is bound to attract attention but not only was this the 1st book to offer an authoritative account, it has, in many ways, not least in the quality of its writing, never been superseded. The authors rejected legend & found facts that were even stranger. They provide an account as reliable as it's enthralling of possibly the most successful spy who ever operated; a man who for eight years transmitted from Japan a continuous stream of valuable information, often derived from the highest quarters, culminating in precise advance information of Hitler's invasion of Russia, of Japan's decision not to attack Russia in '41 & of the near certainty of war against America that October or November instead. Jointly written books sometimes jar, but not this one. The authors had complementary skills, F.W. Deakin being an authority on 20th-century European history & G.R. Storry no less of an authority on 20th-century Japan. Together they do justice to 'the man whom I regard as the most formidable spy in history,'--Ian Fleming (edited)