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At the beginning of the 21st century, science and philosophy are at the crossroads. The achievements of science and technology in the previous century are unparalleled in history. They provide the potential for the solution of all the problems faced by the planet, and equally for its total destruction. Allegedly scientific theories are being used to "prove" that criminality is caused, not by social conditions, but by a "criminal gene." Black people are alleged to be disadvantaged, not because of discrimination, but because of their genetic make-up. Similar arguments are used for poor people, single mothers, women, and so on. Of course, such "science" is highly convenient for right wing politicians intent on ruthlessly cutting welfare. In the field of theoretical physics and cosmology there is a growing tendency towards mysticism. The "Big Bang" theory of the origin of the universe is being used to justify the existence of a Creator, as in the book of Genesis. For the first time in centuries, science appears to lend credence to religious obscurantism. Yet that is only one side of the story. A growing number of scientists are becoming discontented with the old outlook. The rapid rise of the theory of chaos and complexity is one of the most significant developments in science at the present time. Many of the ideas expressed by this new trend are strikingly similar to the theories of dialectical materialism worked out by Marx and Engels over 160 years ago. A significant part of this present work is devoted to an explanation of the relationship between Marxist philosophy and the new theories. Will this encounter provide the basis for a new and exciting breakthrough in the methodology of science?

Eighteen years after it was first published, Wellred Books proudly presents the second edition of Bolshevism: The Road to Revolution."The history of the Bolshevik party contains valuable lessons for today's struggle for socialism, and Alan Woods has performed a service by making this history accessible to a new generation of militants." Revolutionary HistoryThere have been a multitude of histories of Russia, either written from an anti-Bolshevik perspective, or its Stalinist mirror image, which both paint a false image of Bolshevism. For them, the Russian Revolution was either an historical 'accident' or 'tragedy', or is presented as the work of one great man (Lenin), who marched single-mindedly towards October.Using a wealth of primary sources, Alan Woods reveals the real evolution of Bolshevism as a living struggle to apply the method of Marxism to the peculiarities of Russia. Woods traces this evolution from the birth of Russian Marxism, and its ideological struggle against the Narodniks and the trend of economism, through the struggle between the two strands of Menshevism and Bolshevism, and up to the eventual seizure of power.On the 100th anniversary of the Russian Revolution, this book, which represents the authoritative work on the building of the Bolshevik Party, can be used as a handbook for those involved in the movement today.

The October Russian Revolution, led by Lenin and Trotsky, swept away landlordism and capitalism and placed the working class in power for the first time. It transformed the idea of socialism from theory into practice. From this point of view, the Bolshevik revolution can be considered the greatest event in history.The revolution changed the course of world history and the last century has been dominated by its consequences. Ted Grant's book traces the evolution of Soviet Russia from the Bolshevik victory of 1917, through the rise of Stalinism and the political counter-revolution, its emergence as a super-power after the Second World War, and the crisis of Stalinism and its eventual collapse.The book, which was first published in 1997, has been updated and edited in the light of new developments and the subsequent re-establishment of capitalism in Russia. Grant based his analysis on that of Leon Trotsky, who first analysed Stalinism in his Revolution Betrayed.While the counter-revolution has attempted to bury the memory of October, the new crisis of world capitalism has led to a revival of interest in Marxism and the significance of Bolshevism. The republication of Ted Grant's book in this centenary year of the revolution therefore comes at a fitting time.

The Russian October Revolution, for the first time, placed power in the hands of the working class and changed the course of world history.A succinct first-hand account, this text was written to answer the distortions of bourgeois apologists and reformists, and arm the revolutionary workers of Europe and elsewhere with a real understanding of these historic events. At this time, the Revolution was in a precarious position, threatened by the various imperialist powers. In fact, The History of the Russian Revolution to Brest-Litovsk was drafted by Trotsky between sessions of the Peace negotiations between representatives of the Soviet Government and those of the German High Command in December 1917 and January 1918.The Bolsheviks never held the view that socialism could be established in a backward semi-feudal country like Russia. Rather, the Russian Revolution was simply meant to be the opening shot of the world revolution. This masterly work was part of the Bolshevik leaders' appeal to workers internationally.In the centenary of the Revolution, Trotsky's first-class account is an excellent answer to the lies systematically spread by its enemies and should be given the widest possible readership.

Felix Morrow's book, written in the white heat of the struggle, remains a Marxist classic on the Spanish Civil War. The 1930s was a period of revolution and counter-revolution in which Spain was at the very epicenter of events. It remains the clearest account of the movement of the Spanish proletariat, which took power in Catalonia, but was betrayed by the Popular Front government. It describes the heroic struggles waged by the workers and peasants, which, in the words of Leon Trotsky could have carried through ten revolutions. Morrow describes in detail the failure of the anarchists, whose leaders entered the bourgeois government, as well as that of the POUM, the centrist party of the revolution. In particular, the book describes the role of the Stalinists, who under the orders of Moscow supported the bourgeois republic's suppression of the revolution. In the wake of the Moscow frame-up trials, the GPU, Stalin's secret police, sent agents to Spain to murder Spanish revolutionaries, which prepared the way for the eventual victory of Franco. Few books of the period have stood the test of time better than Morrow's, supplemented in this edition by an earlier article, The Civil War in Spain. We also include a foreword by Ted Grant written in 1973, which covers the same periods and provides a valuable addition to this work. A study of these tragic events will help arm a new generation of workers and youth with the lessons of the bitter defeats of the 1930s and equip them with the knowledge to finally carry through the struggle began so many years ago. In the great words of Spinoza, "ours is not to laugh or to weep, but to learn."

This is the second volume of Ted Grant's Writings, which covers the period from 1943 to the end of the Second World War in 1945, when he was involved in establishing the genuine forces of Trotskyism in Britain. As editor of the Socialist Appeal and political secretary of the Workers' International League, he became the principal theoretician of the British Trotskyist movement and drafted its main documents and resolutions throughout this period. Ted's participation in the revolutionary movement was to span a period from 1928, when he was introduced to Marxism, through to his death in 2006. For all those who knew him, he was a truly remarkable and inspiring figure. The articles and documents contained in this second volume of his Writings coincided with the emergence of WIL as one of the most successful Trotskyist groups in the world. In 1944 it fused with the remains of the old Revolutionary Socialist League to form the Revolutionary Communist Party, and was recognised as the official section of the Fourth International in Britain. The first two volumes cover a decisive period in history. It was the most testing time for British and world Trotskyism. As Hitler occupied Europe, the WIL was alone on the continent in applying the proletarian military policy that had been outlined by Trotsky. This it managed to do in the most successful fashion, allowing the WIL to establish an important proletarian base. By the end of the war, revolutionary events had swept Europe, as Trotsky had predicted, but were derailed by the Stalinists and social democrats. The writings in this book constitute an essential and rich part of the theoretical heritage of Marxism, which can serve to educate the new generation of workers and youth who are entering into political activity at this time of deep capitalist crisis.

Ted Grant was a well-known figure in the international Marxist movement. He had a significant impact on British politics. When he died all the most important newspapers carried extensive obituaries that recognised this fact. This is a remarkable work that comprehensively covers the development of Ted's life and ideas, starting from his early family background in Johannesburg right up to his death in London in 2006 at the age of 93. From his earliest youth in South Africa Ted Grant dedicated his life to the struggle for the emancipation of the working class. Moving to Britain in 1934 to seek new horizons, within a decade he had become the leading theoretician of the Trotskyist movement. The book deals with the launch of the Fourth International and Ted's battle to defend the ideas of Trotsky, which brought him into conflict with the leaders of the International after the Second World War. It explains the important theoretical questions and debates of this period and it outlines Ted Grant's important theoretical contribution to Marxism. Ted was the founder and theoretical inspirer of the Militant Tendency, which Michael Crick once described as the fifth political party in Britain. The book traces the rise and fall of Militant. It provides a fascinating insight into a subject that remains a closed book to most political analysts even now. This is a truly amazing story of a truly amazing man, told with style, colour and wit. At the end you will feel that you have known Ted Grant all your life. The author, Alan Woods, has written many books on Marxism, was influential in the political evolution of Hugo Chávez and is the editor of the widely read website Marxist.com. He is a leading figure in the Socialist Appeal and the International Marxist Tendency.