At 08:34 PM 6/18/2002 -0400, Steve Simmons wrote: >Is there >a single volume that you think best presents Trotsky's case Oh, geez. I don't where to start. _The History of the Russian Revolution_ is a favorite of mine, but it's *big*--three volumes. To me, it reads like an adventure novel; but I have enough familiarity with the history that I don't go screaming from the room in all the confusion among the "Cadets" and the "Social Revolutionaries" etc. etc. _The Revolution Betrayed_ is Trotsky's definitive work on the nature of the Soviet Union, and is probably the best single work that explains what "Trotskyism" is. _My Life_ is another personal favorite of mine, but, again, it's pretty big. And the introduction *sucks*. The one I've re-read most often is _Literature and Revolution_. The trouble is, a great deal of it consists of some brilliant criticism of works and authors you have never heard of. I like it, because I enjoy watching the critical process, but it might drive you nuts. A wee little pamphlet that I like a lot is called _Their Morals and Ours._ I've stolen sections of it for a scene in _The Viscount of Adrilankha,_ so you might get a kick when you come across that scene and recognize my source.