An incisive account of the impact of socialism on the life and politics of Europe and the former Soviet bloc in the twentieth century. It covers the origins of socialism in those countries where it had most impact.

1 Before 1939 2 War and resistance: 1939-45 3 Social Democracy and West European recovery: 1945-58 4 The Stalinist model in Eastern Europe: 1945-61 5 Democratic Socialists, Communists and the New Left: 1956-68 6 The climax of European Social Democracy? 1969-82 7 The Soviet Empire: stagnation under Brezhnev, 1964-82 8 Democratic Socialism in retreat: 1982-92 9 Gorbachev and the collapse of the Soviet Empire: 1982-92 10 Resurgence of Social Democracy in Western Europe, Notes