GORDON PARSONS recommends an entertaining account of the years between Germany’s defeat in WWI and Hitler’s seizure of power
The formative years of a revolutionary
STEVE ANDREW relishes a history of Lenin’s childhood and adolescence that gives a useful insight his personality
(L to R) Vladimir Ulyanov in his gymnasium years, this photograph was attached to a petition for admission to Kazan University dated July 29 1887; The Ulyanov family, Maria Alexandrovna, Ilya Nikolaevich and their children in 1879 (Aleksandr standing in the middle, Vladimir sitting to the right).
[(L to R) BR Bick / Alexander Bulla /CC]
MIGUEL YOSHIDA explains the evolution and influence of the Cuban Casa De Las Americas in joining culture to the revolutionary struggle
ANDY HEDGECOCK is charmed by a skilful adaptation of Tove Jansson’s lyrical portrait of three generations of a family, overcoming grief
ALEX HALL treads warily through a messy, dialectical struggle fought in the mundane machinery of driving licences, criminal law, and birth registries
MICHAL BONCZA, FIONA O’CONNOR, JAMES WALSH and ANGUS REID review Atlas of Disappearance, Love Me Tender, Bouchra, and This Tempting Madness
Flitting between myth and the modern world, Medusa is determined to steer clear of human affairs. When her resolve crumbles, the result is petrifying in every sense
Lenin’s childhood
Isaac Deutscher
Verso, £10.99
POLISH Marxist Isaac Deutscher is best known for having penned monumental biographies of Bolshevik leaders Joseph Stalin and Leon Trotsky, the latter running into some three huge volumes.
Whether or not the reader may agree with the perspectives contained therein, no-one could ever doubt Deutscher’s majestic writing style and his lifelong ability for research that was both meticulous and groundbreaking.
Similar stories
PAUL DONOVAN is fascinated by the lives of Charles and Mary Bagot, and the insight this biography shines on the morals of pre-Victorian society
Nature as well as society works dialectically, asserts the Marx Memorial Library and Workers’ School
GLENN FOSBRAEY recommends a biography worth reading for both existing George Michael fans and those yet to be converted
JOHN REES replies to Claudia Webbe