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Trotsky

Downfall of a Revolutionary

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Trotsky

By: Bertrand M. Patenaude
Narrated by: Matthew Waterson
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Summary

In Trotsky: Downfall of a Revolutionary, Stanford University lecturer Bertrand M. Patenaude tells the dramatic story of Leon Trotsky's final years in exile in Mexico. Shedding new light on Trotsky's tumultuous friendship with painter Diego Rivera, his affair with Rivera’s wife Frida Kahlo, and his torment as his family and comrades become victims of the Great Terror, Trotsky: Downfall ofa Revolutionary brilliantly illuminates the fateful and dramatic life of one of history's most famous yet elusive figures.

©2009 Bertrand M. Patenaude (P)2013 Audible, Inc. Historical Politicians Politics & Activism World Stalin Latin American Imperialism Mexico

Editor reviews

Bertrand Patenaude is an international relations scholar, writer, and professor who has written several well-received books on Russian history. In Trotsky: Downfall of a Revolutionary, Patenaude places the controversial figure of Leon Trotsky in Mexico, where he is in exile before World War II. Interspersed with flashbacks to pivotal moments in Trotsky's career with the Red Army and Stalin in Soviet Russia, the book explores Trotsky's wartime relationships with Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo, Saul Bellow, and others. The book is rich and dramatic, packed with affairs, attempted assassinations, and secret police, and English actor Matthew Waterson apportions his sentences to magnify Trotsky's exciting scenes even further.
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A very very interesting and different perspective on the tragic persona who wouldn't give up on a dream

Really good binge listening

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Knowing nothing of his time in Mexico, now you will. A great account of his life from arrival to end. You instantly feel the discombobulated nature of things and the chaos that he’s brought with him that ultimately breaks him or catches up with him in the summer of 1940

Mexico

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Great narration voice, pace and very good story.
written in the way to portray Trotsky as a good old man that has been a victim of bolshevik intrigue. Nice try. Had a good time listening to it, learned a lot and loved the happy ending.

Very much enjoyed it.

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Why the English narrator thinks it’s a great idea to drop into US pronunciation’s only he knows but it’s rather tedious. If he were an American I wouldn’t expect him to use British pronunciation’s you just accept it is part of the narration.

Reader

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Trotsky is - or was, for me at least - one of those historical individuals whose name was well known but whose history was hazy. This very accessible - and moving - book provides a good overview of the man, his personality, and his life, with the emphasis on his years in exile, especially in Mexico. I found it utterly gripping and informative.

One small criticism is the narrator's 'American' pronunciation of words, even though he speaks with an English accent. Hard to understand why that choice was made. It rather grates.

Fascinating and enthralling

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