“Compelling . . . [a] classic study of the revolutionary process” (Neil Davidson, author of How Revolutionary Were the Bourgeois Revolutions?). As the First World War was about to end in defeat, German sailors began to mutiny—giving voice to the widespread anger against the elites who had led the nation into war and the calamitous impact of that decision on everyday people. The events that followed would eventually result in the parliamentary democracy known as the Weimar Republic—and the socialists who had initially risen up would be attacked by German counterrevolutionary troops, their uniforms marking the debut of a new symbol: the swastika. Because of the socialists’ defeat in Germany, Russia fell into the isolation that gave Stalin his road to power. Here, Chris Harman unearths the history of the lost revolution in Germany and reveals its lessons for the future struggles for a better world. “Chris Harman’s compelling analysis of the failed German Revolution covers the entire period from 1918 to the debacle of 1923, paying close attention to episodes such as the Bavarian Soviet Republic which are often neglected or minimized. Harman clearly demonstrates that this example of ‘lost revolution’ was the real turning point in German history when history failed to turn, with dire consequences.” —Neil Davidson, author of Discovering the Scottish Revolution

In 1881, an old diary is found on the shelves of an antiquities shop in Victorian London. Hired to translate it from its original French is Julian North, a young file clerk for the London Times. He spends weeks poring over the brittle pages, uncovering the story of an ill-fated idealist, an epic sea battle, and an abandoned army lost in the Egyptian desert. But, hidden within a puzzling code, the diary holds secrets. A mysterious visitor and a night of violence soon reveal just how dangerous these secrets are - to Julian and to the world. From a safe but aimless existence, Julian is pulled into a fire-storm as grand causes clash around him on the world stage. It's a game of high stakes where, not only Julian's fate but the fate of nations, hang in the balance.

The story of contemporary Ireland is inseparable from the story of the official republican movement, a story told here for the first time - from the clash between Catholic nationalist and socialist republicanism in the 1960s and '70s through the Workers' Party's eventual rejection of irredentism. A roll-call of influential personalities in the fields of politics, trade unionism and media - many still operating at the highest levels of Irish public life - passed though the ranks of this secretive movement, which never achieved its objectives but had a lasting influence on the landscape of Irish politics. 'A vibrant, balanced narrative' Diarmaid Ferriter, Irish Times Books of the Year 'An indispensable handbook' Maurice Hayes, Irish Times 'Hugely impressive' Irish Mail on Sunday 'Excellent' Sunday Business Post