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Author: Josh Ireland (Dutton, 2026), 380 pages.

Reviewer: John Ehrman, a retired CIA officer and frequent contributor to Studies.

The Death of Trotsky: The True Story of the Plot to Kill Stalin's Greatest Enemy

Does the world really need another book on the assassination of Leon Trotsky? In truth, probably
not. Memoirs, histories of Soviet intelligence, and biographies of Stalin, Trotsky, and some of the participants provide amply detailed accounts. With that in mind, however, British writer and journalist Josh Ireland’s The Death of Trotsky provides a readable, straightforward telling of the story that makes for a good starting point for anyone who wants to become familiar with one of the most dramatic political showdowns of the twentieth century—one that ended with Trotsky's death in August 1940.

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