title: Forging Democracy: The History of the Left in Europe, 1850-2000
author:  Geoff Eley 
description: The central thesis of this massive historical study is that an assortment of radical and leftist movements were chiefly responsible for the triumph of democracy in Europe. Eley (history, Univ. of Michigan; Reshaping the German Right) provides a chronological and country-by-country examination of the emergence of democracy and the factors that promoted and hindered its development. Beginning with the growth of liberal constitutionalism in the 1860s, he writes eloquently about the influence of the labor movement, Socialists, Communists, and feminists throughout Europe. This history covers all the expected names Marx, Lenin, Stalin, Gramsci, Brandt, Gorbachev, et al. and the major political events and upheavals. Eley began working on this book 20 years ago and changed his focus as the political landscape of Europe changed, especially after 1989. The rapid democratization of the East-bloc nations led him to consider the future of democratic socialism within the politics of globalization. This is an impressive work of scholarship, with over 90 pages of notes and a bibliography of equal size. Eley has produced a worthy successor to David Caute's seminal study The Left in Europe Since 1789. Highly recommended for all academic libraries. Thomas A. Karel, Franklin & Marshall Coll. Lib., Lancaster, PA <BR>Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
zlib_text: FORGING DEMOCRACY
  
  FORGING
  DEMOCRACY
  The History
  of the Left
  in Europe,
  1850–2000
  Geoff Eley
  1
  2002
  
  1
  Oxford
  New York
  Auckland
  Bangkok
  Buenos Aires
  Cape Town
  Chennai
  Dar es Salaam
  Delhi
  Hong Kong
  Istanbul
  Karachi
  Kolkata
  Kuala Lumpur
  Madrid
  Melbourne
  Mexico City
  Mumbai
  Nairobi
  Sa˜o Paulo
  Shanghai
  Singapore
  Taipei
  Tokyo
  Toronto
  and an associated company in Berlin
  Copyright � 2002 by Oxford University Press, Inc.
  Published by Oxford University Press, Inc.
  198 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10016
  Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press
  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
  stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means,
  electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise,
  without the prior permission of Oxford University Press.
  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
  Eley, Geoff, 1949–
  Forging democracy : The history of the Left in Europe, 1850–2000 / Geoff Eley.
  p. cm.
  Includes bibliogr