My Life
The most accessible entry point to Trotsky's political development and personal history.
Author guide
Leon Trotsky Books in Order
Leon Trotsky, born Lev Davidovich Bronstein, was a Russian revolutionary, Marxist theorist, political organizer, military leader, and writer. He chaired the Saint Petersburg Soviet during the 1905 Revolution, helped lead the October Revolution, organized the Red Army, and served in the early Soviet government. After opposing Stalin's bureaucratic consolidation, he was expelled from the Soviet Union in 1929 and lived in exile in Turkey, France, Norway, and Mexico. His major writings address revolutionary strategy, permanent revolution, Soviet history, fascism, literature, political morality, and the development of the international communist movement. He was assassinated in Mexico in 1940.
political theoryMarxismrevolutionary historypolitical historyautobiographymemoirmilitary historyliterary criticismessay collectionspolitical pamphletspolitical programscorrespondence
Not sure where to begin?
Start with one of these
History of the Russian Revolution
Trotsky's major historical account of the 1917 Revolution.
The Permanent Revolution
A concise entry point to Trotsky's central theory of permanent revolution.
The Revolution Betrayed
A major analysis of the Soviet state and the rise of Stalinism.
Read in order
Books by series
multi-volume nonfiction · complete
How the Revolution Armed
A multi-volume history and documentary account of the Red Army and the Russian Civil War.
- 1 How the Revolution ArmedAmazon ↗
Book 1 · multi-volume military history · 1923
multi-volume essay collection · complete
The First Five Years of the Communist International
A two-volume collection of Trotsky's writings and speeches on the Communist International.
- 1 The First Five Years of the Communist InternationalAmazon ↗
Book 1 · multi-volume essay collection · 1924
multi-volume essay collection · complete
The Challenge of the Left Opposition
A three-volume posthumous collection of Trotsky's writings documenting the Left Opposition from 1923 to 1929.
- 1 The Challenge of the Left Opposition, 1923–1925Amazon ↗
Book 1 · posthumous essay collection · 1975
- 2 The Challenge of the Left Opposition, 1926–1927Amazon ↗
Book 2 · posthumous essay collection · 1980
- 3 The Challenge of the Left Opposition, 1928–1929Amazon ↗
Book 3 · posthumous essay collection · 1981
Outside the series
Bibliography by category
Nonfiction (15)
- There and Back AgainAmazon ↗
memoir · 1907
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1905Amazon ↗revolutionary history · 1909
- History of the October RevolutionAmazon ↗
revolutionary history · 1918
- Questions of LifeAmazon ↗
social criticism · 1923
- The Communist Movement in FranceAmazon ↗
political history · 1923
-
Literature and RevolutionAmazon ↗literary criticism · 1923
- LeninAmazon ↗
political biography · 1924
- Lessons of OctoberAmazon ↗
political history · 1925
- My LifeAmazon ↗
autobiography · 1930
- History of the Russian RevolutionAmazon ↗
multi-volume revolutionary history · 1931
-
The Stalin School of FalsificationAmazon ↗political history · 1932
- The Young LeninAmazon ↗
political biography · 1936
- Their Morals and OursAmazon ↗
political philosophy · 1937
-
Stalin: An Appraisal of the Man and His InfluenceAmazon ↗political biography · 1946
- Trotsky's Diary in Exile, 1935Amazon ↗
diary · 1976
Essays and speeches (18)
- Our Political TasksAmazon ↗
political pamphlet · 1904
- Until the Ninth of JanuaryAmazon ↗
political pamphlet · 1905
- Our RevolutionAmazon ↗
essay collection · 1906
- In Defense of the PartyAmazon ↗
political pamphlet · 1907
- The Program of PeaceAmazon ↗
political pamphlet · 1917
- Years of the Great BreakAmazon ↗
political essays · 1919
- The New StageAmazon ↗
political pamphlet · 1921
- Between Imperialism and RevolutionAmazon ↗
political essays · 1922
- The War and the RevolutionAmazon ↗
essay collection · 1923
- The October GenerationAmazon ↗
political essays · 1924
- West and EastAmazon ↗
political essays · 1924
- The New CourseAmazon ↗
political pamphlet · 1924
- What Happened and HowAmazon ↗
political essays · 1929
- The Only RoadAmazon ↗
political pamphlet · 1933
- The Fourth International and WarAmazon ↗
political pamphlet · 1934
- Whither France?Amazon ↗
essay collection · 1936
- Stalin's GangstersAmazon ↗
political pamphlet · 1940
- In Defense of MarxismAmazon ↗
political correspondence and essays · 1942
Posthumous collections (8)
- The Trotsky Papers, 1917–1922Amazon ↗
posthumous archival collection · 1964
-
The Struggle Against Fascism in GermanyAmazon ↗posthumous essay collection · 1971
- The Spanish Revolution, 1931–1939Amazon ↗
posthumous essay collection · 1973
- Leon Trotsky on ChinaAmazon ↗
posthumous essay collection · 1976
- The Crisis of the French Section, 1935–1936Amazon ↗
posthumous essay collection · 1977
- The Balkan Wars, 1912–1913Amazon ↗
posthumous war correspondence · 1980
- Trotsky's Notebooks, 1933–1935Amazon ↗
posthumous notebooks · 1986
- The Trotsky Archive: From the Archives of the Revolution, 1927–1928Amazon ↗
posthumous archival collection · 1999
Collaborations (1)
- Report of the Siberian DelegationAmazon ↗
co-authored political report · 1903
Other (15)
- Results and ProspectsAmazon ↗
political theory · 1906
- The War and the InternationalAmazon ↗
political analysis · 1914
-
Terrorism and CommunismAmazon ↗political theory · 1920
- Whither England?Amazon ↗
political analysis · 1925
- Europe and AmericaAmazon ↗
political analysis · 1926
- The Real Situation in RussiaAmazon ↗
political analysis · 1928
- The Third International After LeninAmazon ↗
political analysis · 1928
- The Permanent RevolutionAmazon ↗
political theory · 1930
- The German Revolution and the Stalinist BureaucracyAmazon ↗
political analysis · 1932
- Problems of the Chinese RevolutionAmazon ↗
political analysis · 1932
- What Hitler WantsAmazon ↗
political analysis · 1933
- The Revolution BetrayedAmazon ↗
political analysis · 1936
- The Case of Leon TrotskyAmazon ↗
testimony and legal proceedings · 1937
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The Transitional Program for Socialist RevolutionAmazon ↗political program · 1938