Sartre Against Stalinism

Ian H. Birchall, formerly Senior Lecturer in French at Middlesex University, is now an independent writer.  His books include The Spectre of Babeuf (1997).  He has written numerous articles and reviews in academic and political journals, especially on French literature, Sartre and on the history of socialism, and has translated works by Victor Serge and Alfred Rosmer.  He is a member of the Socialist Workers Party.

• AcknowledgementsBibliographical NoteAbbreviationsChronologyChapter 1. Introduction: Claiming the CorpsePART I: THE MAKING OF A REBELChapter 2. ‘La Communiste’Chapter 3. The Threat of FascismChapter 4. War within WarPART II: POSTWAR CHOICESChapter 5. The Better ChoiceChapter 6. Materialism or Revolution?Chapter 7. The Spectre of TrotskyChapter 8. The RDRChapter 9. Which Camp?PART III: RAPPROCHMENT WITH STALINISMChapter 10. ReorientationChapter 11. Dangerous LiaisonChapter 12. Debate with the Far LeftChapter 13. Laying the GhostPART IV: TOWARDS A NEW LEFTChapter 14. From Practice to TheoryChapter 15. The Battle over AlgeriaChapter 16. Rebuilding the LeftChapter 17. May to DecemberChapter 18. Conclusion: Sartre’s Century?BibliographyIndex

"…this is a worthy analysis of the dangerous and ambiguous political liaisons of an important twentieth-century thinker. The argument is persuasive in showing that the subject of this book was separate and apart from what E.P. Thopson stigmatised as the 'shambles' of the 'tenacious posthumous Stalinism of the French Communist intelligentsia'" Labour History"... an outstanding contribution to Sartre studies. There is nothing quite like it, and Birchall's scholarship is formidable ... The author has an impressive mastery of his topic, the deep intellectual and political background needed for this study, and has gone into the many sources needed to answer his questions."  Ron Aronson, Wayne State University"Th[e] understanding and separation of different elements of the French left is one of the strengths of Birchall's book ... [It] provides a useful and accessible historical analysis of Sartre's writing and politics, and offers a full, convincing and critical account of why Sartre should be reclaimed to an anti-Stalinist position…As a clear outline of Sartre’s relation to the French left Sartre Against Stalinism is an interesting and informative read." International Socialism"The question of what kind of politics and what kind of organisation the movement needs is practical and urgent. [This] account of Sartre as a fighter for freedom – however flawed a fighter – is timely and invaluable.”  Socialist Review