Trotsky cover art

Trotsky

Downfall of a Revolutionary

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Trotsky

By: Bertrand M. Patenaude
Narrated by: Matthew Waterson
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About this listen

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

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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.
All stars
Most relevant
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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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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This is a very interesting study of the last months of Leon Trotsky's life, culminating in his assassination. Although it alludes to many incidents in Trotsky's earlier years, often during the October revolution, it concentrates on his exile in Mexico, focussing strongly on his domestic relationships; principally with his wife, Diego Rivera and Frieda Kahlo. This domestic focus serves to illustrate how isolated and politically impotent Trotsky had become in real terms, notwithstanding the amount of ideological support and notoriety he still received. A portrait of an increasingly frustrated and stymied former political giant results, perhaps throwing some light on Trotsky's failings as a political leader by exposing his personal foibles. I found the material engaging, if occasionally a little repetitive, and the narration generally pleasing with a good pace. As a personal preference, however, I don't like the marriage of a standard English voice with American pronunciations and usage, and some of the emphases and stresses echoed oddly, perhaps as a result of this. Overall I'd recommend this work as it deals with an important subject and tells its story well.

Fascinating and frustrating.

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