Stalin: History and Critique of a Black Legend Book Cover

Stalin: History and Critique of a Black Legend

Book Overview: Stalin: History and Critique of a Black Legend

Iskra Books is proud to publish the first authorized English edition of Domenico Losurdo’s now-mythic text, Stalin: History and Critique of a Black Legend-translated for the first time from the original Italian. Operating under the assumption that the prevalent rejection of, or dismissiveness about, Josef Stalin as a historical figure merits closer and critical inspection, Losurdo encourages readers to make up their own mind on Stalin, rather than to uncritically accept received, popular notions.

In fact, it is precisely the now-widespread caricatures of Stalin as personified evil-rife in liberal democracies and uncritically accepted by most Western leftists-that Losurdo shows to be more related to contingent ruling class preoccupations than actual evidence. Even pointing out such problems with conventional representations of Stalin brought a shower of accusations of “Stalinism” or “neo-Stalinism” upon Losurdo, who made it clear that the text of Stalin was not a rehabilitation but a contribution to contextualizing and ending the demonization of Stalin, who was even, in 1946, praised by Gandhi.

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Product Information

ISBN-1397810881625459781087884714
ISBN-1010881625411087884713
PublisherIskra BooksIskra Books
Publication Date2023-08-102023-08-10
Edition
Languageenen
Pages388388
Dimensionsin x in x in
Weight lbs

Editorial Reviews

“Domenico Losurdo’s Stalin: History and Critique of a Black Legend recaptures the distorted personal and political narrative proffered by western historians for over 75 years. This magisterial work convincingly counters the biased distortions of both establishment and left historians through a balanced historiographic and philosophical exegesis of Stalin’s complex life and leadership, as well as his contribution to socialism and the defeat of fascism. Losurdo’s heretical counter-hegemonic history authentically counters the mythical, demonic figure into a true-to-life biography of the most significant political figure of the 20th century. Fifteen years after its publication in Italian, Henry Hakamäki and Salvatore Engel-Di Mauro’s superb translation brings Losurdo’s compelling corrective of Stalin to English readers.” — Immanuel Ness, Author of Southern Insurgency: The Coming of the Global Working Class

“In this intrepid and rigorous study, Domenico Losurdo takes on the myth of the monster by shedding much-needed light on the monstrous situation in which Joseph Stalin found himself: that of building the world’s first socialist state under conditions of incessant imperialist assault, civil war, subversive plots, fascist invasion, and the risks of nuclear annihilation. Losurdo’s dialectical assessment of the commendable as well as the deplorable decisions made by Soviet leadership, given the circumstances, provides the reader with an extraordinary opportunity to learn practical and difficult lessons from concrete history. This book is thus an essential antidote to the terrifying tales whose purpose is to produce fear-induced ignorance, and thus benighted ideological alignment against ‘the monster.'” — Gabriel Rockhill, Founding Director of the Critical Theory Workshop / Atelier de Théorie Critique, Professor of Philosophy at Villanova University

About the Author

Domenico Losurdo

Domenico Losurdo was a respected Italian Marxist philosopher and historian renowned for his profound analysis of diverse ideologies. Born in 1941 in Sannicandro di Bari, Italy, Losurdo secured his doctorate in philosophy in Rome in 1963, and then joined the University of Urbino as a professor of the History of Philosophy. Over his long academic career, he wrote prolifically and with intellectual rigor, injecting fresh perspectives into the study of Hegelianism, non-violence, liberalism, and other complex themes.

Losurdo’s work spans across diverse political belief systems, from Marxism to liberalism and anarchism. Assiduous and articulate in his views, he is best known for his reinterpretations of political theories and his critique of non-violence as a political action. His book, “Liberalism: A Counter-History” chronicles the contradictions in the liberal ideology, revealing the often unspoken class relations and exclusions beneath its surface narrative. His thought-provoking writings significantly influenced academic and philosophical discourse and spurred rethinkings of widely accepted belief systems.

Losurdo’s death in 2018 left the philosophical world with a legacy of scholarly exploration into some of modern history’s most complex ideologies. With his in-depth research and dexterous ability to dissect, debate, and present political philosophies, Losurdo contributed a magnificent body of work that continues to be critiqued, studied, and admired by scholars in the field. His oeuvre, characterized by its undiluted exploration of ideological systems, cements his place as one of the most significant thinkers in contemporary philosophy.

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