Re: [Marxism] Deutscher trilogy reviewed

[Einde O'Callaghan <einde@xxxxxx>]

Mark Lause wrote:
> I share the general appreciation for the Deutscher trilogy here.  It
> wasn't unusual for us Leftist dropouts of 30+ years ago to read two- and
> three-volume sets.  How about Trotsky's own History of the Russian
> Revolution or even Winston Churchill's masterfully written multi-volume
> histories?
>
> However, there was very little encouragement of such things, especially
> not on the organized Left.

This may have been your experience in the American SWP, but it certainly
wasn't my experience in the British IS/SWP in the mid-1970s. We were
encouraged to read widely (not just Trotskyist literature) and the
party's then publishing house Pluto Press published many substantial
works from other traditions, e.g. Rosdolsky's "Making of Marx's Capital"
or works by Korsch.

We also had a bookclub (Bookmarx Bookclub), which offered a wide
selection of Marxist and other radical writing (including fiction) every
3 months. This tradition continued down to the beginning of the 1990s at
least as I know from personal experience since I worked in the party
bookshop for several years. (I left Britain at that time, but I assume
that the tradition continues - even though the bookclub no longer exists
since the ending of retail price maintenance for books now allows books
to be sold at a discount without having to set up a bookclub.)

Einde O'Callaghan


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