{"product_id":"vanguard-of-the-revolution-a-james-mcadams-9780691168944","title":"Vanguard of the Revolution: The Global Idea of the Communist Party","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe first comprehensive political history of the communist party\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eVanguard of the Revolution\u003c\/i\u003e is a sweeping history of one of the most significant political institutions of the modern world. The communist party was a revolutionary idea long before its supporters came to power. In this book, A. James McAdams argues that the rise and fall of communism can be understood only by taking into account the origins and evolution of this compelling idea. He shows how the leaders of parties in countries as diverse as the Soviet Union, China, Germany, Yugoslavia, Cuba, and North Korea adapted the original ideas of revolutionaries like Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin to profoundly different social and cultural settings. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eTaking readers from the drafting of \u003ci\u003eThe Communist Manifesto\u003c\/i\u003e in the 1840s to the dissolution of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s, McAdams describes the decisive role played by individual rulers in the success of their respective parties--men like Joseph Stalin, Mao Zedong, and Fidel Castro. He demonstrates how these personalities drew on vying conceptions of the party's functions to mesmerize their followers, mobilize their populations, and transform their societies. He also shows how many of these figures abused these ideas to justify incomprehensible acts of inhumanity. McAdams explains why communist parties lasted as long as they did, and why they either disappeared or ceased to be meaningful institutions by the close of the twentieth century. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe first comprehensive political history of the communist party, \u003ci\u003eVanguard of the Revolution\u003c\/i\u003e is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand world communism and the captivating idea that gave it life.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e A. James McAdams\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0691168946\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780691168944\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Princeton University Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 09\/05\/2017\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 600\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 2.15lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.40h x 6.20w x 1.80d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e 08\/14\/2017\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eChoice\u003c\/i\u003e 01\/01\/2018","brand":"A. James McAdams","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":43987358220543,"sku":"9780691168944","price":35.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_4de7367c-1536-4b32-b4ec-c1a2a5cb09cc.jpg?v=1683288511","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/vanguard-of-the-revolution-a-james-mcadams-9780691168944","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}