Comrades. Communism. A World History

For those historians who like to think big, and take the brave decision towrite a book which tackles a very large concept, a long period of time orcontroversial idea, it is difficult not to fall in to a trap of excessivesimplicity or letting the bigger picture slip away amidst a barrage ofdetails. Few subjects are as complex, debatable or relevant as communism,and this is the story of an ideology that changed the world. It is also a subject on which it is impossible to be neutral. Communismas a monstrous ideology which led to more deaths than Facism, a brutalsystem implemented by thuggish dictators? Or a utopian idea whose time wasnot right, or that was implemented in the wrong places? A brave attempt atchallenging age old iniquities, or an concept with a foolish disregard forhuman weaknesses. With this in mind it is important to note that RobertService does have a bias, but that all historians do, and he does his jobas an academic historian well with a thorough grasp of the sourcesavailable.