{"schema_version":"bf_book_companion_v1","release_id":"20260418T162306Z","book":{"amazon_purchase_url":"https://www.amazon.com/dp/1541601963?tag=bookfrontier-20","asin":"1541601963","authors":["Sean McMeekin"],"book_id":"9781541601963","canonical_url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/to-overthrow-the-world-1541601963","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781541601963.jpg?v=20260418T162306Z%3A2026-04-19T10%3A16%3A55Z","description":"From an award-winning historian, a new global history of Communism When the USSR collapsed in 1991, the world was certain that Communism was dead. Today, three decades later, it is clear that it was not. While Russia may no longer be Communist, Communism and sympathy for Communist ideas have proliferated across the globe. In To Overthrow the World , Sean McMeekin investigates the evolution of Communism from a seductive ideal of a classless society into the ruling doctrine of tyrannical regimes. Tracing Communism’s ascent from theory to practice, McMeekin ranges from Karl Marx’s writings to the rise and fall of the USSR under Stalin to Mao’s rise to power in China to the acceleration of Communist or Communist-inspired policies around the world in the twenty-first century. McMeekin argues, however, that despite the endurance of Communism, it remains deeply unpopular as a political form. Where it has arisen, it has always arisen by force. Blending historical narrative with cutting-edge scholarship, To Overthrow the World revolutionizes our understanding of the evolution of Communism—an idea that seemingly cannot die.","forthcoming":false,"isbn13":"9781541601963","publication_date":"20240910","publisher":"Basic Books","slug":"to-overthrow-the-world","subtitle":"The Rise and Fall and Rise of Communism","title":"To Overthrow the World"},"discovery":{"categories":{"all":[{"bisac_code":"HIS037100","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Cold War History","score":0.7624,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"POL042060","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Capitalism & Markets","score":0.7458,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"POL042040","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Radical Politics","score":0.7449,"source":"bisac_hint_model"}],"hint":[{"bisac_code":"HIS037100","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Cold War History","score":0.7624,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"POL042060","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Capitalism & Markets","score":0.7458,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"POL042040","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Radical Politics","score":0.7449,"source":"bisac_hint_model"}],"publisher":[{"bisac_code":"HIS008000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Chinese History","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"HIS010000","confidence_band":"high","label":"European History","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"HIS037000","confidence_band":"high","label":"World History","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"HIS037100","confidence_band":"high","label":"Cold War History","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"POL005000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Communism & Socialism","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"}]},"genres":[{"label":"Cold War History","score":0.7624,"slug":"cold-war-history"},{"label":"Capitalism & Markets","score":0.7458,"slug":"capitalism-markets"},{"label":"Radical Politics","score":0.7449,"slug":"radical-politics"}],"reader_fit":["Good for readers who enjoy Cold War History","Good for readers interested in social","Good for fans of History"],"related_lists":[],"series":null,"similar_books":[{"authors":["Malcolm Harris","Patrick Harrison","Little, Brown & Company","& 0 more"],"book_id":"9780316592017","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780316592017.jpg?v=20260418T162306Z%3A2026-04-19T10%3A16%3A55Z","score":11.7994,"title":"Palo Alto","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780316592017"},{"authors":["Bernie Sanders"],"book_id":"9781250138903","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781250138903.jpg?v=20260418T162306Z%3A2026-04-19T10%3A16%3A55Z","score":10.2625,"title":"Bernie Sanders Guide to Political Revolution","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781250138903"},{"authors":["Robert Spalding","Ray Porter","Penguin Audio","& 0 more"],"book_id":"9780593084342","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780593084342.jpg?v=20260418T162306Z%3A2026-04-19T10%3A16%3A55Z","score":9.0933,"title":"Stealth War","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780593084342"},{"authors":["Jarrod Shanahan","A.M. 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