Leon Trotsky: A Revolutionary's Life

Leon Trotsky: A Revolutionary's Life
	Book cover
Author	Joshua Rubenstein
Original title	The Life and Death of Leon Trotsky (2009).
Language	English
Series	Yale Jewish Lives
Subject	Russian Revolution, Leon Trotsky, Soviet Union, Communism, Joseph Stalin
Genre	Non-fiction, Biography, History, Politics
Publisher	Yale University Press
Publication date	2011
Publication place	United States
Media type	Hardcover, Paperback, Kindle
Pages	240
ISBN	978-0300137248
OCLC	696942380
Website	Publisher's page

The Life and Death of Leon Trotsky^[a] is a biography of Leon Trotsky by Joshua Rubenstein. The book was originally published in 2009 by Yale University Press and is part of the Yale Jewish Lives series.^[2]^[3]

Synopsis and structure

Leon Trotsky: A Revolutionary’s Life by Joshua Rubenstein is a concise biography that explores Trotsky's role as a revolutionary, his Jewish background, and his political downfall. Part of Yale University Press's Jewish Lives series, the book presents Trotsky as a complex figure—both a key architect of the Russian Revolution and a victim of the regime he helped establish.

While the biography highlights Trotsky's intellectual and organizational contributions, it also underscores his ideological rigidity and political miscalculations. Rubenstein examines Trotsky's ambivalent relationship with his Jewish identity, noting moments of empathy toward Jewish suffering despite his self-identification as a Marxist internationalist. Reviewers praised the book's clarity and accessibility.^[4]^[5]

Reception

Legvold, Robert (2012). "Review of Leon Trotsky: A Revolutionary's Life by Joshua Rubenstein". Foreign Affairs. 91 (2). Council on Foreign Relations: 187–188. Retrieved June 1, 2025.
Swain, Geoffrey (2012). "Review of Leon Trotsky: A Revolutionary's Life by Joshua Rubenstein". Russian Review. 71 (4). Wiley: 702–703. Retrieved June 1, 2025.
Daly, Jonathan (2012). "Review of Leon Trotsky: A Revolutionary's Life by Joshua Rubenstein". The Historian. 74 (4). Wiley: 890–891. Retrieved June 1, 2025.
Thatcher, Ian D. (2012). "Review of Leon Trotsky: A Revolutionary's Life by Joshua Rubenstein". The Slavonic and East European Review. 90 (4). Modern Humanities Research Association, University College London, School of Slavonic and East European Studies: 772–775. Retrieved June 1, 2025.

Release information

Hardcover: 2011 (First Edition), Yale University Press, 240pp. ISBN 9780300137248.^[a]^[3]
Paperback: 2013, Yale University Press, 240pp. ISBN 9780300198324.
Kindle: 2011, Yale University Press.

Similar or related works

Trotsky: A Biography by Robert Service (2009).
Trotsky by Tony Cliff (1989–1993, 4 vols.).^[6]
The Prophet: The Life of Leon Trotsky (1953, 1959, 1963, 3 vols.) by Isaac Deutscher.

About the author

Joshua Rubenstein is an American activist, writer and scholar of literature, dissent, and politics in the former Soviet Union. He won a National Jewish Book Award in Eastern European studies in 2002 for his book Stalin’s Secret Pogrom.^[7]^[8]

References

Notes

^ ^a ^b ^c The book was originally published in 2009 as The Life and Death of Leon Trotsky by Yale University Press. The title was changed to Leon Trotsky: A Revolutionary's Life for the 2011 edition published by Yale University Press.

Citations

^ "Jewish Lives Series". Yale University Press. Retrieved June 1, 2025.
^ "The Life and Death of Leon Trotsky". Yale University Press. Retrieved May 31, 2025.
^ ^a ^b Rubenstein, Joshua (2011). Leon Trotsky: A Revolutionary's Life. New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN 9780300112030. OCLC 696942380.
^ Swain, Geoffrey (2012). "Review of Leon Trotsky: A Revolutionary's Life by Joshua Rubenstein". Russian Review. 71 (4). Wiley: 702–703. Retrieved June 1, 2025.
^ Daly, Jonathan (2012). "Review of Leon Trotsky: A Revolutionary's Life by Joshua Rubenstein". The Historian. 74 (4). Wiley: 890–891. Retrieved June 1, 2025.
^ "Tony Cliff Archive". Marxists Internet Archive. Retrieved May 31, 2025.
^ "Joshua Rubenstein". Davis Center. Retrieved June 12, 2022.
^ "Winners of 52nd National Jewish Book Awards". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. October 17, 2002. Retrieved June 12, 2022.

External links

[title-1] The book was originally published in 2009 as The Life and Death of Leon Trotsky by Yale University Press. The title was changed to Leon Trotsky: A Revolutionary's Life for the 2011 edition published by Yale University Press.

[JewishLivesSeries-2] "Jewish Lives Series". Yale University Press. Retrieved June 1, 2025.

[3] "The Life and Death of Leon Trotsky". Yale University Press. Retrieved May 31, 2025.

[Rubenstein-Trotsky-4] Rubenstein, Joshua (2011). Leon Trotsky: A Revolutionary's Life. New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN 9780300112030. OCLC 696942380.

[Swain-Trotsky-5] Swain, Geoffrey (2012). "Review of Leon Trotsky: A Revolutionary's Life by Joshua Rubenstein". Russian Review. 71 (4). Wiley: 702–703. Retrieved June 1, 2025.

[Daly-Trotsky-6] Daly, Jonathan (2012). "Review of Leon Trotsky: A Revolutionary's Life by Joshua Rubenstein". The Historian. 74 (4). Wiley: 890–891. Retrieved June 1, 2025.

[Cliff-Archive-7] "Tony Cliff Archive". Marxists Internet Archive. Retrieved May 31, 2025.

[:0-8] "Joshua Rubenstein". Davis Center. Retrieved June 12, 2022.

[9] "Winners of 52nd National Jewish Book Awards". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. October 17, 2002. Retrieved June 12, 2022.

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v t e Leon Trotsky
Bibliography of the Russian Revolution and Civil War Bibliography of Stalinism and the Soviet Union
Works	Leon Trotsky bibliography Our Political Tasks (1904) Our Revolution (1906) 1905 (1908) The Permanent Revolution and Results and Prospects (1919) Terrorism and Communism (1920) Trotsky's Military Writings (1923-1925) Problems of Everyday Life (1924-1939) Literature and Revolution (1924) New Course (1924) Lessons of October (1925) Towards Socialism or Capitalism? (1925) Leon Trotsky on China (1925-1940) My Life (1930) The Permanent Revolution (1930) History of the Russian Revolution (1932) The Revolution Betrayed (1937) The Stalin School of Falsification (1937) Their Morals and Ours: The class foundations of moral practice (1938) The Transitional Program (1938) Stalin: An Appraisal of the Man and His Influence (1938–1940) Writings of Leon Trotsky The Spanish Revolution, 1931-1939 (1931-1939) The Struggle Against Fascism in Germany (1931-1940) In Defence of Marxism (book) (1942)
Life	First exile of Trotsky Saint Petersburg Soviet Russian Revolution of 1905 1917 Russian Revolution Trade union debate Kronstadt rebellion Fourth International Assassination of Leon Trotsky
Related	Anti-Stalinist Left Left Opposition Bulletin of the Opposition American Committee for the Defense of Leon Trotsky List of Trotskyist internationals Permanent revolution Trotskyism International Left Opposition
Miscellaneous	Trotsky's train Lenin's Testament The Blue House Self-Portrait Dedicated to Leon Trotsky Leon Trotsky House Museum The Ballad of Trotsky
Family	Lev Kamenev (brother-in-law) Olga Kameneva (sister) Lev Sedov (son) Sergei Sedov (son) Natalia Sedova (second wife) Aleksandra Sokolovskaya (first wife) Zinaida Volkova (daughter)
Biographies	Leon Trotsky: A Revolutionary's Life by Joshua Rubenstein (2011). The Prophet: The Life of Leon Trotsky by Isaac Deutscher (1954–1963). The Prophet Armed: Trotsky, 1879–1921 by Isaac Deutscher (1954). The Prophet Unarmed: Trotsky, 1921–1929 by Isaac Deutscher (1959). The Prophet Outcast: Trotsky, 1929–1940 by Isaac Deutscher (1963). Trotsky: A Biography by Robert Service (2009).