Chat with The Mikado about cool history topics that interest you

[Filuwaúrdjan]

That's possibly so, but then wasn't the extreme/messianic end of the socialist spectrum given a massive boost by the events of 1917? There would surely still have been splits, but for the Communist Parties the influence of the Soviet Union cut both ways.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

I don't think it was ever something that you could politely describe as a 'serious theory'.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

If we're just thinking of general works, then one worthwhile book that covers that period (and others but whatever) is another by Norman Davies: his monumental and delightful Europe: A History. The main text is a lot of fun, but the appendices are fantastic (and frankly ideal for anyone who has gone to the bother of registering an account on this forum of all forums) as are the freestanding short essays dotted throughout as 'capsules'.