Three Revolutions: Russia, China, Cuba and the Epic Journeys that Changed the World

(Hardback, Main)

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'A salve for our current reactionary times.' ANDREW HARTMAN

The gripping, untold story of how six epic journeys launched the three communist revolutions that changed world history forever.

From the streets of Petrograd during the heady autumn of 1917, to Mao's stunning victory in October 1949, and Fidel's triumphant arrival in Havana, in January 1959, the history of the twentieth century was transformed in dramatic and profound ways by the Russian, Chinese, and Cuban revolutions.

In Three Revolutions, the stories of these epoch-defining events are told together for the first time. At the heart of each revolution was an epic journey: Lenin's 1917 return to Russia from exile in Switzerland; Mao's 'Long March' of 1934-35, covering some 6,000 miles across China; and Fidel Castro's return to Cuba in 1956 following his exile in Mexico. Told in tandem with these are the corresponding journeys of three extraordinary journalists - John Reed, Edgar Snow and Herbert L. Matthews - whose electric testimony from the frontlines of each revolution would make a decisive contribution to how these revolutions were understood in the wider world.

Here, in Simon Hall's masterful retelling, these six remarkable journeys are brought vividly to life. Featuring a stellar cast, extraordinary drama and an epic sweep, Three Revolutions raises fundamental questions about the nature of political power, the limits of idealism and the role of the journalist - questions that remain of utmost urgency today.

Reviews

Praise for TEN DAYS IN HARLEM

"Simon Hall captures Castro's action-packed September 1960 New York sojourn in rich and compelling detail, and argues persuasively that its repercussions echoed deeply in the decade to come." -- New York Journal of Books

"A highly readable, engaging, astute microhistory of an overlooked event ... a sharply focused study ... illuminating." -- Kirkus *STARRED REVIEW*

"Well-researched, compelling, entertaining and at times scarcely believable ... an interesting portrayal of a fiery and transformative time in Cold War history and rich in detail." -- Americas Quarterly

"A wide-ranging exploration ... Hall's informative, page-turning account captures the cultural and political tumult of the era, and the fervent idealism that made Castro a revolutionary icon. Political history buffs will want to take a look." -- Publishers Weekly

Author Bio

Simon Hall studied history at Sheffield and Cambridge, and held a Fox International Fellowship at Yale, before moving to the University of Leeds, where he is currently Professor of Modern History. His previous books include 1956: The World in Revolt and Ten Days in Harlem: Fidel Castro and the Making of the 1960s.