Mexico, 1940. Leon Trotsky, a key charismatic figure in the 1917 Russian Revolution, lives in exile in Mexico after losing power to Josef Stalin in 1924. He resides in a comfortable, fortified villa in Coyoacán in relative peace-until an agent of Stalin assassinates him. Los Angeles, 1990. Fifty years later, Trotsky's memory remains alive for six Americans who lived with him at the time of his death. Now they've gathered together to mark the fiftieth anniversary of his assassination. Though they have aged and their bodies no longer have the energy they once possessed, they still passionately believe in Trotsky's cause. For former lovers Byron Lerner and Verna Swartz, the past collides with the present as long-dormant emotions erupt between them, leading them down a road of painful memories. And for the entire group, their brief reunion will uncover betrayal, lies, and secrets so devastating that their perception of history will forever be altered. Rich with historic detail, The Ghost of Leon Trotsky is a brilliant examination of how six people come to terms with their individual and collective pasts and presents.

The Social and Political Thought of Leon Trotsky

Was the regime of Joseph Stalin and his heirs a continuation of the Bolshevik-led workers and peasants government established by the October 1917 Revolution? No! says Bolshevik leader Leon Trotsky in testimony before a 1937 international commission of inquiry into Stalin's Moscow frame-up trials. Reviewing forty years of working-class struggle in which Trotsky was a participant and leader, he discusses the fight to restore V.I. Lenin's revolutionary internationalist course and why the Stalin regime organized the Moscow Trials. He explains working people's stake in the unfolding Spanish Revolution, the fight against fascism in Germany, efforts to build a world revolutionary party, and much more.