Book description
Winner of the 2010 W. J.M. Mackenzie Prize for Best Political
Science Book of the Year 2010
The relentless rise of Communism was the most momentous political
development of the first half of the twentieth century. No political
change has been more fundamental than its demise in Europe and its
decline elsewhere. In this hugely acclaimed book Archie Brown provides
an indispensable history that examines the origins of the ideology,
its development in different countries, its collapse in many states
following the Soviet perestroika, and its current incarnations around
the globe.
The Rise and Fall of Communism explains how and why
Communists came to power; how they were able, in a variety of
countries on different continents to hold on to power for so long; and
what brought about the downfall of so many Communist systems. A
groundbreaking work from an internationally renowned specialist, this
is the definitive study of the most remarkable political and human
story of our times.
Archie Brown is a British political scientist and historian. He is
Emeritus Professor of Politics at Oxford University and Emeritus Fellow
of St Antony's College, Oxford. A Fellow of the British Academy since
1991, Professor Brown was elected a Foreign Honorary Member of the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2003. He has written widely on
Soviet and Communist politics, the Cold War, and political leadership.
