The Prophet: The Life of Leon Trotsky
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| Author | Isaac Deutscher |
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| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Non-fiction, Biography |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press (original editions) |
| Published | 1954, 1959, 1963 (first editions) |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover, Paperback), Kindle,[a] Audiobook.[b] |
| No. of books | 3 |
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Personal Russian political activities Deposition Political ideology Affiliations
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| Part of a series on |
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The Prophet: The Life of Leon Trotsky is a three-volume biography of Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky (Lev Davidovich Bronstein[c] (7 November [O.S. 26 October] 1879 – 21 August 1940[2])) by the Polish-British historian Isaac Deutscher. The series traces Trotsky's life from his early revolutionary activities to his eventual assassination in exile. Widely read and influential,[d] the trilogy presents a sympathetic but critical account of Trotsky's political development and historical significance.[3][4][5]
Volumes
- The Prophet Armed: Trotsky, 1879–1921 (1954).[e]
- The Prophet Unarmed: Trotsky, 1921–1929 (1959)
- The Prophet Outcast: Trotsky, 1929–1940 (1963)
Similar or related works
- Trotsky: A Biography by Robert Service (2009).
- Trotsky by Tony Cliff (1989–1993, 4 vols.).[7]
- Leon Trotsky: A Revolutionary's Life by Joshua Rubenstein (2011).
About the author
Isaac Deutscher (Polish: Izaak Deutscher; 3 April 1907 – 19 August 1967) was a Polish Marxist writer, journalist and political activist who moved to the United Kingdom before the outbreak of World War II.[8] He is best known as a biographer of Leon Trotsky and Joseph Stalin and as a commentator on Soviet affairs.[9][10][11][12][13]
See also
- Russian Revolution
- Marxist historiography
- Trotskyism
- Bibliography of the Russian Revolution and Civil War § Leon Trotsky
- Leon Trotsky bibliography
References
Notes
- ^ The Kindle edition from Verso Books published in 2015 is of the unabridged three volume set, 2055pp.
- ^ The audiobook edition from Tantor Media published in 2025 is of the unabridged three volume set, and is narrated by Nigel Patterson, (Running time: 62:43:00)[1].
- ^ Russian: Лев "Лейба" Давидович Бронштейн, romanized: Lev "Leyba" Davidovich Bronshteyn, IPA: [lʲef lʲɪjbə dɐˈvʲidəvʲɪtɕ brɐnʂˈtʲejn], /ˈtrɒtski/; Russian: Лев Давидович Троцкий, romanized: Lev Davidovich Trotskiy, IPA: [ˈlʲef ˈtrotskʲɪj] ⓘ; Ukrainian: Лев Давидович Троцький; also transliterated Lyev, Trotski, Trockij and Trotzky
- ^ See the Reception and academic reviews section of each volume.
- ^ The titles The Prophet Armed and The Prophet Unarmed reference a quote from Niccolò Machiavelli, "Hence it comes that all armed Prophets have been victorious, and all unarmed Prophets have been destroyed." (Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince, Chapter 6).[6]
Citations
- ^ "The Prophet". Tantor Media. Retrieved 30 May 2025.
- ^ "Trotsky". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Merriam-Webster.
- ^ Rieber, Alfred J. (1965). "Review of The Prophet Outcast: Trotsky, 1929–1940 by Isaac Deutscher". The Journal of Modern History. 37 (1). University of Chicago Press: 118–119.
- ^ Tompkins, Stuart R. (1960). "Review of The Prophet Unarmed: Trotsky 1921–1929 by Isaac Deutscher". The Slavonic and East European Review. 39 (92). Modern Humanities Research Association: 267–268.
- ^ Warth, Robert (1956). "Review of The Prophet Armed: Trotsky, 1879–1921 by Isaac Deutscher". The Journal of Modern History. 28 (2). University of Chicago Press: 189–190.
- ^ Deutscher, Isaac (1963). "Preface". The Prophet Armed: Trotsky, 1879–1921. Oxford University Press.
- ^ "Tony Cliff Archive". Marxists Internet Archive. Retrieved 31 May 2025.
- ^ "Isaac Deutscher Archive". Marxists Internet Archive. Retrieved 30 May 2025.
- ^ Caute, David (2013). "Isaac and Isaiah: The Covert Punishment of a Cold War Heretic". Yale University Press.
- ^ Shore, Marci (2006). "Caviar and Ashes: A Warsaw Generation's Life and Death in Marxism, 1918–1968". Yale University Press.
- ^ Davidson, Neil (2004). "The prophet, his biographer and the watchtower". International Socialism (104).
- ^ Beilharz, Peter (1986). "Isaac Deutscher: History and Necessity". History of Political Thought. 7 (2). Imprint Academic Ltd.: 375–384. JSTOR 26213281.
- ^ Linfield, Susie (2019). "Isaac Deutscher: A Very Jewish Jew". The Lions' Den: Zionism and the Left from Hannah Arendt to Noam Chomsky. Yale University Press. pp. 140–164.
Further reading
- Cox, Michael (1992). "Trotsky and His Interpreters; or, Will the Real Leon Trotsky Please Stand Up?". The Russian Review. 51 (1). Wiley: 84–102. JSTOR 131248.
- Kirsch, Adam (2019). "Non-Jewish Jews: Rosa Luxemburg and Isaac Deutscher". Who Wants to Be a Jewish Writer?: And Other Essays. Yale University Press. pp. 139–162.
- Isaac Deutscher, The Non-Jewish Jew. Brandeis University Press. 2019. pp. 133–144.