Synopses & Reviews
Paul Levi remains one of the most interesting and controversial figures in the history of the Communist movement. As leader of the KPD after the murder of Luxemburg and Liebknecht, he successfully built up a party of a third of a million members, but by 1921 Comintern pressure forced Levis resignation. This is the first English edition of Levi's writings.
Review
"With this skillfully edited collection of Levi's speeches and writings, Fernbach, long established as a leading student of Marxism, makes a major contribution to understanding the Left in Europe in the years after WW I.
Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above."
Choice
"Levis writings in English ... allow English-reading socialists to obtain a fuller understanding of the German revolutionary period after the First World War, a period rich in lessons for anti-capitalists today. ... David Fernbach [has] done a service to the left in making them available to the English reader.
Stuart King, in Permanent Revolution, vol. 22
Synopsis
Long maligned by scholars of Communist history, this volume lets Paul Levi's writings during the German Revolution speak for themselves.
About the Author
David Fernbach studied at London School of Economics. He is a freelance writer, editor and translator. Publications include the three-volume edition of
Karl Marxs Political Writings (Penguin 1973-4, reissued Verso 2010), and
The Spiral Path: a gay contribution to human survival (1981). Translations include Marxs Capital Volumes Two and Three, and works by Georg Lukacs, Rudolf Bahro, Boris Groys, Nicos Poulantzas, Pierre Bourdieu, Alain Badiou and Jacques Rancière.
Paul Levi (18861930) was a long time friend and sometimes lawyer to Rosa Luxemburg. Levi became one of the leading members of the German Communist Party, and an active participant in the Communist International.