"An interpretation for the 21st century," says the blurb. My first reaction was to wonder whether the 21st century needs a new interpretation of Trotsky, or even whether Trotsky needs a new biography. We already have the three-volume classic by Isaac Deutscher, a Russian (former Soviet) perspective from Dmitri Volkogonov, and, just a couple of years ago, a book on his murder by Bertrand Patenaude and Robert Service's biography, a bit mean-spirited, perhaps, but well-researched and twice as large as this new one by Rubenstein.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/feb/17/leon-trotsky-joshua-rubenstein-review?CMP=twt_gu
Ismail Lagardien
Nihil humani a me alienum puto