To Overthrow the World, Sean McMeekin
To Overthrow the World, Sean McMeekin
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To Overthrow the World
The Rise and Fall and Rise of Communism

Author: Sean McMeekin

Narrator: Robert Fass

Unabridged: 16 hr 15 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Basic Books

Published: 09/10/2024

Includes: Bonus Material Bonus Material Included


Synopsis

From an award-winning historian, a new global history of Communism 

When the USSR collapsed in 1991, the world was certain that Communism was dead. Today, three decades later, it is clear that it was not. While Russia may no longer be Communist, Communism and sympathy for Communist ideas have proliferated across the globe. 
 
In To Overthrow the World, Sean McMeekin investigates the evolution of Communism from a seductive ideal of a classless society into the ruling doctrine of tyrannical regimes. Tracing Communism’s ascent from theory to practice, McMeekin ranges from Karl Marx’s writings to the rise and fall of the USSR under Stalin to Mao’s rise to power in China to the acceleration of Communist or Communist-inspired policies around the world in the twenty-first century. McMeekin argues, however, that despite the endurance of Communism, it remains deeply unpopular as a political form. Where it has arisen, it has always arisen by force. 
 
Blending historical narrative with cutting-edge scholarship, To Overthrow the World revolutionizes our understanding of the evolution of Communism—an idea that seemingly cannot die. 

Reviews

Goodreads review by Stephanie on May 03, 2024

A well-orchestrated, detailed recount of the history and the evolution of communist ideology. This is quite possibly the most well-researched, non-biased technical breakdown of this topic that I have found thus far, and is perfect for the studying Historian, or for the casual learner seeking to unde......more

Goodreads review by Sebastian on January 26, 2025

This book was a mission impossible - to present so much historical material (not to mention the necessary analysis of the broader context) in just a single (not monumental) book - it was clear that satisfying every reader is just not possible. Still, I give it a full 5 stars - well-deserved ones. Wh......more

Goodreads review by Cav on February 20, 2025

"The history of Communism may not always be edifying or reassuring, but it is worth reexamining dispassionately, without either prejudice or wishful thinking. Let us begin." To Overthrow the World was an interesting account of the ideology of Socialism/Communism. An ideology that would go on to produ......more

Goodreads review by GrahamReads on January 09, 2025

Just finished: "To Overthrow The World: The Rise and Fall and Rise of Communism" By: Sean McMeekin New York: Basic Books, 2024. The best read if the year so far. While I thought McMeekin should have spent more time on the rise of Communism in it's 21st Century form, I'd recommend this book to anyone wan......more

Goodreads review by Dennis on October 19, 2024

In the history of the world there have been few ideas as pernicious to human flourishing as Marxist- Leninist theory. As one who lived under the tension between Communism and Democracy at it most contentious, I was delighted to read Sean McMeekin's history of communism. The book is admirably short f......more


Quotes

“This vivid history of communism, from the day Marx penned The Communist Manifesto in 1848 to the present, contains valuable insights, including that of Bakunin, the Russian anarchist, who immediately pointed out the crippling contradiction of Marxism -- that it merely substitutes one power-hungry form of government for another.  McMeekin follows this skeptical thread through the Soviet and Chinese experiences, from Lenin and Stalin to Mao and Xi, detailing the economic weakness and political madness of communist regimes in Europe and Asia that have been kept afloat over the decades as much by Western gullibility and indulgence as by their own ruthless, incompetent managers.”—Geoffrey Wawro, author of The Vietnam War: A Military History

“Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, many in the West were lulled into a sense of complacency.  Fast forward to today, and the United States is locked in yet another struggle with a communist superpower even as our liberal system is under attack at home. In his thoroughly researched but readable and entertaining new book, historian Sean McMeekin charts the evolution of communism from Karl Marx to Tiananmen Square massacre, while explaining how this political system endured through the trials and tribulations of the 20th century. Students, scholars, and policymakers will all benefit from the lessons contained in this bold and lively book.”—Walter Russell Mead, author of The Arc of a Covenant

“In To Overthrow the World, Sean McMeekin describes in telling detail how no Communist regime in history has gained power through the vote or public approval, and how its social and economic policies invariably bring about mass repression and poverty.  No other book to my knowledge has demonstrated so damningly the endemic falsity of the ideology’s doctrines, together with the appalling consequences of the social experiment in a worldwide setting.”—Nikolai Tolstoy, historian

“An essential read. Sean McMeekin is one of the few historians who understands the history of communism  from the ground up. He has written a powerful and urgent book, revealing communism in all its ugly detail, and showing how its pernicious influence still lingers on into the twenty-first century.”—Nick Lloyd, author of The Western Front

“With amazing scholarship, Sean McMeekin tells the story of the rise and fall of Communism in To Overthrow the World. The utopian promises of Communism have always led to dictatorship, bloody repression, and war. McMeekin punctures one myth after another, including the legend that the Soviets won World War II without much help from the West. Many people today are too young to remember the Cold War, and it is vital that they learn the facts about Communism found in To Overthrow the World.”—David Gordon, Senior Fellow, Ludwig von Mises Institute