Harry Pollitt (Lives of the Left)

This book is one of a series of original biographies of leading figures in the European and North American socialist and labour movements. The series is intended for students of history and politics and anyone interested in the development of the Left. For the generation which lived through the Depression of the 1930s and World War II, Harry Pollitt was the epitome of British Communism. In this critical biography, Kevin Morgan tells Pollitt's story, from his origins in the mill-town of Droylsden near Manchester, through his tumultuous years as General Secretary of the British Communist party from 1929 to 1956, to his ultimate disillusionment with the Stalinist project in the wake of Krushchev's revelations. The book reveals how much of Pollitt's life confirms preconseptions about Communism in Britain. The Comintern agents and Moscow gold, the political somersaults and conclaves with Stalin: all are documented. However, it also shows how powerful convictions rather than political expediency underlay Pollitt's actions. This book draws on primary archival research and on interviews witrh Communists who knew Pollitt well.