• Aristotle: 'Politics', written 350 B.C. Aristotle asked what made a society good and developed a language of ‘oligarchies’, ‘democracies’ and ‘monarchies’.  (Read on-line) (Wiki)
  
• Bentham, Jeremy: 'A Fragment On Government', 1776.  Attacks the 'social contract' in favour of 'utility'.  (Read on-line) (Wiki: Jeremy Bentham)
• Carr, Edward Hallett: 'A History Of Soviet Russia', 1950-1978.  A fourteen volume work, covering the first twelve years of the Soviet Union.   (Wiki) (Wiki: E. H. Carr)
• Clark, Christopher: 'Iron Kingdom: The Rise And Fall Of Prussia 1600 - 1917', 2006.  An account of Prussian dominance and downfall, leading to the German state.  (Read on-line)  
  
• Cohen, Stephen: 'Bukharin And The Bolshevik Revolution: A Political Biography 1888-1938', 1975.  An examination of Bukharin's ideas, especially the transition to socialism, but the lies against Trotsky are not fully covered.  (Read on-line)
• Deutscher, Isacc: 'The Prophet Armed: Trotsky, 1879–1921', 'The Prophet Unarmed: Trotsky, 1921–1929', 'The Prophet Outcast: Trotsky, 1929–1940', 1954-1963. Three volume work tracing Trotsky's life and achievements.  (Read Deutscher on-line) (Wiki: Issac Deutscher)
• Deutscher, Issac: 'Stalin: A Political Biography', 1949.  A great book, particularly Trotsky's struggles with Stalin.  (Read on-line) (Wiki: Issac Deutscher)
• Engels, Friedrich: 'Anti-Dühring', 1877.  The philosophy of dialectic materialism.  (Read on-line) (Wiki)
  
• Engels, Friedrich: 'The Origins Of The Family, Private Property And The State', 1884.  Early work of historical materialism.  (Read on-line) (Wiki)
• Fitzpatrick, Sheila: 'The Russian Revolution', 2008.  A short history.  (Wiki)
• Goldman, Emma: 'My Two Years In Russia' or 'My Disillusionment In Russia', 1923. An account of life in Russia between 1920 and 1921, that disappointed Goldman so much, since she thought the Bolsheviks were crushing the Revolution.  (Read on-line) (Wiki)
• Gramsci, Antonio: 'Prison Notebooks', 1947.  Collection of essays examining Cultural Hegemony, economisim and materialism.  (Read on-line) (Wiki)  
  
• Hegel, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich: 'Lectures On The Philosophy Of World History', 1837.  Makes the argument that history follows the dictates of reason.  (Read on-line) (Wiki)   
  
• Hobbes, Thomas: 'Leviathan', 1651.  Examines political legitimacy, written during the English Civil War.  (Read on-line) (Wiki)  
  
• Krupskaya, Nadezhda Konstantinovna: 'Reminiscences Of Lenin', 1926 in Russian, 1930 in English.  Captures not just the chronology, but the spirit of the Revolution.  (Read on-line) (Wiki: Nadezhda Krupskaya)
  

• Lenin, Vladimir Ilyich: 'Imperialism: The Highest Stage Of Capitalism', 1916.  First published as a pamphlet in 1917, Lenin's analysis of imperialism in developed capitalism.  (Read on-line) (Wiki)
  
• Lenin, Vladimir Ilyich: 'The State And Revolution', 1918.  Points out the weaknesses of Social Democracy and the role of the State in society. (Read on-line) (Wiki)
• Lenin, Vladimir Ilyich: 'What Is To Be Done?', 1902.  Outlines the necessity of a disciplined, centralised vanguard party of professional revolutionaries to guide the working class toward socialist revolution, rather than relying on spontaneous economic struggles.  (Read on-line) (Wiki)
  
• Lieven, Dominic:, 'Towards The Flame: Empire, War And The End Of Tsarist Russia', 2015.  The effects of the First World War on the fall of Tsarist Russia.  (Wiki: Dominic Lieven)   
  
• Locke, John: 'Two Treatises Of Government', 1689.  Discusses 'natural rights' and the consent of the governed.  (Read on-line) (Wiki))
• MacCulloch, Diarmaid: 'Reformation: Europe's House Divided 1490 - 1700', 2003.  Religion and politics mix with repercussions for the present day.  (Wiki)      
  
• Machiavelli, Niccolo: 'The Prince', 1532.  The instructions to be a prince, not written in Latin.  (Read on-line) (Wiki)     
• Marcuse, Herbert: 'Reason And Revolution: Hegel And The Rise Of Social Theory', 1941.  Looks at Hegel's and Marx's philosophical outline. (Read on-line) (Wiki)
• Martin, Janet: 'Medieval Russia 980-1584', 1993.  Covers the history of the Riurikid dynasty from Vladimir 1 the Saint, through to Ivan the Terrible, who sealed the end of his dynasty's rule.  (Wiki: Janet Martin)

• Marx, Karl: 'Capital: A Critique Of Political Economy', 1887, 1907, 1909.  In my opinion, Marx's greatest work.  (Read on-line) (Wiki)
• Marx, Karl and Engels, Friedrich: 'The Communist Manifesto', 1848.  First published as a pamphlet, the outline of Marxism.  (Read on-line) (Wiki)
  

• Marx, Karl: 'The Civil War In France 1870-1871', 1871.  An account of the Paris Commune.  (Read on-line) (Wiki)
  
• Marx, Karl: 'The Political Writings', 2019.  A collection of Marx's writings in three volumes, including 'The Eighteenth Brumaire Of Louis Bonaparte', 'The Class Struggles In France' and 'The Critique Of The Gotha Programme'. (Wikisource: Karl Marx Works)
• McMeekin, Sean: 'The Russian Origins Of The First World War', 2013.  Puts the start of the First World War in St. Petersburg, not eastern Europe.  (Wiki: Sean McMeekin)

• Miéville, China: 'October', 2017.  A vibrant telling of the October Revolution.  (Wiki: China Miéville)
• Miéville, China: 'Between Equal Rights: A Marxist Theory Of International Law', 2005. Argues that international law is not neutral, but fundamentally constituted by imperialist violence and commodity exchange. Based on his LSE doctoral thesis.  (Wiki: China Miéville)
• Mill, John Stuart: 'Considerations On Representative Government', 1861.  An important idea in this book is that government representatives should not make legislation.  (Read on-line) (Wiki)     
• Moore Jr, Barrington: 'Social Origins Of Dictatorship And Democracy', 1966.  Discusses the move from agrarian towards democratic, fascist or communist industrial states in various countries.  (Wiki)
• Orwell, George: '1984', 1949.  A satire on totalitarianism.  (Wiki)
• Orwell, George: 'Homage To Catalonia', 1938.  Orwell's memoir of the Spanish Civil War.  (Wiki)
• Orwell, George: 'The Road To Wigan Pier', 1937.  A look at the working conditions of Lancashire and Yorkshire and a discussion about why people who would benefit from socialism are opponents to it.  (Wiki)
• Poulantzas, Nicos: 'State, Power, Socialism', 1978. Explores the concept of 'Authoritarian Statism' and discusses why the state is not neutral and identifies forms of class power.  (Wiki: Nicos Poulantzas)
• Rabinowitch, Alexander: 'The Bolsheviks Come To Power: The Revolution Of 1917 In Petrograd', 1976.  (Wiki: Alexander Rabinowitch)
  
• Rabinowitch, Alexander: 'The Bolsheviks in Power: The First Year of Soviet Rule in Petrograd', 2007.  (Wiki: Alexander Rabinowitch)
• Rapport, Michael: '1848: Year Of Revolution' 2008.  Tells the history of hope to defeat.
• Reed, John: 'Ten Days That Shook The World', 1919.  A first-hand account of the 1917 Russian October Revolution.  (Read on-line) (Wiki)
• Rousseau, Jean-Jacques: 'The Social Contract & Discourses', 1762.  An inspiration for the French Revolution.  (Read on-line) (Wiki)
• Skocpol, Theda: 'States And Social Revolutions: France, Russia And China', 1979.  A comparative analysis, looking at states breaking down and peasant revolution.  (Wiki)
• Thompson, Edward Palmer: 'The Secret State', 1979.  Discusses the state within the state, the Labour Party's reaction to the Seamen's strike of 1966 and the growth of state monitoring and police power. (Wiki: E. P. Thompson)
• Trotsky, Leon 'The Permanent Revolution & Results And Prospects', 1930 in Russian, 1931 in English.  Two essays, the one against compromise or alliance with opposing interests, the other outlines Trotsky's thoughts about the 1905 Russian Revolution.  (Read on-line) (Wiki)
  
• Trotsky, Leon: 'My Life: An Attempt At An Autobiography', 1930.  Covers the period from his youth to his expulsion from the Communist Party. (Read on-line) (Wiki)
• Trotsky, Leon: 'The Revolution Betrayed: What is the Soviet Union and Where is it Going?', 1937.  Trotsky's primary work dealing with the nature of Stalinism and socialist democracy. (Read on-line) (Wiki)
• Trotsky, Leon: 'Stalin – An Appraisal of the Man and his Influence', 1941.  Trotsky's last work, unfinished because of his assassination. (Read on-line) (Wiki)       
  
• Woods, Alan & Sewell, Rob: 'What Is Marxism?', 2007.  Introduction to Marxist theory.  (Read on-line)
  
• Woods, Alan & Sewell, Rob: 'In Defence Of Lenin', 2024.  Counters the lies of bourgeois historians about Lenin's life and ideas.  (Review)
• Woods, Alan: 'Bolshevism: The Road To Revolution', 1999.  The real evolution of Bolshevism (not from a Stalinist or bourgeois perspective) as a living struggle to apply the method of Marxism to the peculiarities of Russia. (Read on-line)