A letter to readers

The defeat of the German Revolution of 1918-19 was, after the First World War and the October Revolution in Russia the third decisive turning point of the century. It determined the fate of both the Russian Revolution, and of socialism in the twentieth century. It determined that there would be a Stalin, a Hitler and a Second World War. This issue of Workers' Liberty contains a detailed account of that revolution. We relate its lessons to the contemporary issue of European unity and the politics of the left on Europe.

The production of two books last year - How Solidarity Can Change the World and The Fate of the Russian Revolution - wreaked havoc with our publication schedules. It has to be a matter of political judgement as to whether that was a price worth paying: we think it was; the texts in The Fate of the Russian Revolution will over time help restore and regenerate the revolutionary left. Illness disrupted our plans to produce a double number on Ireland in December; illness and then the production of the special issue on unity in January has delayed Part Two of the discussion piece on Hal Draper and Israel: that will appear in the March Workers' Liberty and in the following issue, Alan Johnson will reply to it. Much of the work on the Irish double issue is done, and we hope to publish that in August. We are now back on regular schedule: Workers' Liberty will appear ten times a year, excepting August and December, with 40 pages per issue. Each August and December we will produce some sort of "special" - pamphlet issue or book.

Sales of The Fate of the Russian Revolution Volume I have been very encouraging. Within a few months of publication we have got back more than half the £10,000 cost of production and circulating it. The paucity of reviews has been disappointing so far, but a number of reviews are expected in the next few months. Three things you might do, if you haven't already, to push the circulation: order a copy of The Fate of the Russian Revolution; ask your local library to order it (do that even if you have bought it: others will benefit); order copies to sell to your friends and "contacts".