To Overthrow the World: The Rise and Fall and Rise of Communism -- Sean McMeekin, Hardcover

From an award-winning historian, a new global history of Communism

When the USSR collapsed in 1991, the world was certain that Communism was dead. Today, three decades later, it is clear that it was not. While Russia may no longer be Communist, Communism and sympathy for Communist ideas have proliferated across the globe.

In To Overthrow the World, Sean McMeekin investigates the evolution of Communism from a seductive ideal of a classless society into the ruling doctrine of tyrannical regimes. Tracing Communism's ascent from theory to practice, McMeekin ranges from Karl Marx's writings to the rise and fall of the USSR under Stalin to Mao's rise to power in China to the acceleration of Communist or Communist-inspired policies around the world in the twenty-first century. McMeekin argues, however, that despite the endurance of Communism, it remains deeply unpopular as a political form. Where it has arisen, it has always arisen by force.

Blending historical narrative with cutting-edge scholarship, To Overthrow the World revolutionizes our understanding of the evolution of Communism--an idea that seemingly cannot die.

Author: Sean McMeekin
Publisher: Basic Books
Published: 09/10/2024
Pages: 544
Binding Type: Hardcover
ISBN: 9781541601963

Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 06/15/2024

About the Author
Sean McMeekin is a professor of history at Bard College. The award-winning author of several books, including Stalin's War, The Russian Revolution, July 1914, and The Ottoman Endgame, McMeekin lives in Clermont, New York.