The Serge Trotsky Papers: Correspondence and Other Writings Between Victor Serge and Leon Trotsky

At a time when the orthodox Leninist regimes of Eastern Europe are in crisis, Serge and Trotsky both stand as non-orthodox revolutionaries whose messages will now emerge from underserved obscurity. "The Serge-Trotsky Papers" presents hitherto unpublished material from the Trotsky Archive at Harvard and the Serge Archive in Mexico. Correspondence and other writings, dating from 1936 to 1940, are drawn upon to illustrate the nature of the debate between these two great revolutionaries. Their private debate is revealed in the correspondence begun in 1936 upon Serge's emergence from internal exile in the Soviet Union. Their public polemic continues a highly animated dialogue on such matters as Kronstadt, the Fourth International and the Spanish Revolution. The editor provides clear introductions which contextualize and clarify the documents. '(Cotterill) has done a truly magnificent job. Everything is accurate, informative, enriching and both scholarly and political... The five essays are all of high quality. I call this a model of the genre.' Professor Richard Greeman, President of the Victor Serge Association