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