Leon trotsky stalin biography

The book was never finished due to Trotsky's assassination in August although copious draft manuscripts for concluding chapters survived, allowing editors to complete the work.

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The Russian manuscript was translated and edited by language professor and Trotskyist political sympathizer Charles Malamuth. Originally scheduled for publication in the second half of , the book was printed but then abruptly withdrawn from distribution for political reasons due to American entry into World War II. The book finally was released in when the political relationship between the United States and Soviet Union became frosty.

It was subsequently published in French and Spanish in , and in Russian in In , an authorized revised second edition was published. British writer Alan Woods deconstructed the original manuscript and reassembled the pieces in as comprehensive a manner as possible, resulting in the addition of , words. An American edition of the lengthy tome was published in As Trotsky intended to write the book in his native Russian , a translator was necessary; Charles Malamuth , an assistant professor of language at the University of California, Berkeley , a former correspondent for United Press International in the Soviet Union was available for the task and was hired by the publisher with Trotsky's approval.

Exposed to the Trotskyist movement through his experience as a foreign correspondent in , Malamuth considered himself a convinced admirer of Trotsky and his disciples, although he was never himself a member of a Trotskyist political party. Trotsky began work on the manuscript in April , with the first chapter completed and mailed to translator Malamuth on July 7.