Status Updates From Enemy Within: The Rise and ...

Great book! Beckett makes this book surprisingly readable, even for people who probably aren't moved by politics. A bit of background on the major political events of the era wouldn't hurt, but the text is easy reading, with Beckett summarising major contextual events (e.g. the Suez crisis, or Krushchev's revelations) so as to avoid repetition but not isolate the uninformed. The journalistic style is awesome...

It's good to read the history of Leftist parties to see them making the same mistakes over and over: punching left, not making strategic alliances at key elections, splitting over small disputes, careerism, failure to engage the workers on their own terms...
However, the successes are similar too: pushing back against fascism, supporting minorities, supporting women, putting out persuasive intellectual output etc ...