Hi All!



We are incredibly excited to announce that the first book that will be published here at Sinistra Publishing is a translation of Domenico Losurdo's Stalin, Storia e critica di una legenda nera (Stalin: A History and Critique of a Black Legend) into English. Originally published in Italian in 2008, Stalin has subsequently been published into French, Spanish and, German. Here's a synopsis;

There was a time when illustrious statesmen – such as Churchill and De Gasperi – and ​​​​

renowned intellectuals – such as Croce, Arendt, Bobbio, Thomas Mann, Kojève and, Laski – looked up to Stalin and the country he led with respect, and even admiration. However, starting with the outbreak of the Cold War and decisively with Khrushchev’s secret speech, Stalin became a monster comparable only to Hitler. To identity this turning-point as the final and definitive identity of the Soviet leader, thus ignoring all the conflicts and interests from where this image originated, would be undoubtedly careless. The radical contrast that emerges from the different accounts on Stalin should lead any historian to problematize all of them, rather than universalize a single one. Analyzing the tragedies of the twentieth century with a comprehensive and comparative method, Domenico Losurdo deconstructs and contextualizes many of the accusations directed at Stalin. In this book, Losurdo’s investigation involves historical, as well as philosophical and historiographical inquiry that won’t fail to cause controversy.

Domenico Losurdo was an incredibly gifted philosopher, historian and, was one of Italy's premier Marxists. His analysis of liberal democracies and totalitarianism won him widespread acclaim. Losurdo passed away on the 28th of June, 2018 at the age of 76.

More details on the books translation will follow soon.