Sean

Definitely different. I know many people reading the paper edition have been frustrated initially by the extensive use of ampersands, but I think that is an intentional Verfremdung technique so listeners may miss out. Otherwise I felt like I could follow it better as an audiobook.

The performance was great, it certainly added to the experience.

Bertolt Brecht, in his time, once said that Trotsky must be the greatest literary writer alive. I've read other Trotsky books and I wasn't prepared to contradict that, but not until I heard this performance was it made absolutely clear how true that is. Trotsky's constant wit had me laughing aloud at the ridiculous attempts of poor Kautsky (Trotsky's target in this polemic) at slander. Add to this Trotsky's moral high ground, and his masterful command of metaphor and literary subtlety, and this book should be studied in literary or theater courses at the university. Aside from this, there are actually many good arguments made which wouldn't appear obvious to many on a first glance, and I found Trotsky's argument itself quite insightful.

But I am not sure this would have been so apparent had it not been for the audio performance by Sean Barrett. From beginning to end, Barrett gives full life to the polemical text; it is as if Trotsky himself were thundering down from the speakers' platform. This is without a doubt the best recording of a book that I have ever heard, it is a rare indication of the potential of this format.

But I am not sure this would have been so apparent had it not been for the audio performance by Sean Barrett. From beginning to end, Barrett gives full life to the polemical text; it is as if Trotsky himself were thundering down from the speakers' platform. This is without a doubt the best recording of a book that I have ever heard, it is a rare indication of the potential of this format.