The political uses of historical writing--namely the genres of biography and autobiography within communist and socialist traditions--are closely examined in this issue of "Socialist History Journal." Leading the way, Reiner Torsorff presents the first-ever biographical study written in English of Alexander Losowski--his life before the revolution, his rise in the Profintern, and beyond. Steve Hopkins examines Irish republican autobiography--its political forms and functions. Emmet O'Connor critically examines the autobiography of Irish Communists in the Spanish Civil War with an eye toward the mythic purposes which such writing serves. Additionally, Neil Redfern conveys the story of Michael Shapiro, the "Daily Worker China" correspondent who sided with the Chinese in the Sino-Soviet splits in the 1960s.

*Revisionary look at the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) showing small numerical size but deep influence in British political society. *Set in imperial and international context - but Eurocentred. *Based on newly-available CPGB and other sources. The size of the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) belied its influence; many saw it as a microcosm of the communist-capitalist struggle. It had a powerful presence in British society despite being a minority movement. Based upon newly available sources, Neil Redfern re-examines the movement and its relationship to imperialism. He traces the history of British communism from its gradualist roots and finds that, despite World War I, the 1917 revolution and mass movements in Asia, Africa and Latin America, CPGB remained Euro-centred and reformist rather than revolutionary, even supporting the post-1945 Labour government.

In Social-Imperialism in Britain Neil Redfern examines the relationship between British labour and British capital in the two world wars of the twentieth century. He argues that the Second World War, the so-called 'People's War,' was an imperialist war no less than the First. He further argues that in both wars labour and capital entered into a social-imperialist contract in which labour would be rewarded for its support for war with such social and political reforms as votes for women and a health service, culminating in the 'welfare state' constructed after the Second World War. Concentrating on Lancashire, he examines the complex interaction between military successes and reverses, elite war aims, labour unrest and popular demands for reform.

The size of the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) belied its influence; many saw it as a microcosm of the communist-capitalist struggle. It had a powerful presence in British society despite being a minority movement. Based upon newly available sources, Neil Redfern re-examines the movement and its relationship to imperialism. He traces the history of British communism from its gradualist roots and finds that, despite World War I, the 1917 revolution and mass movements in Asia, Africa and Latin America, CPGB remained Euro-centred and reformist rather than revolutionary, even supporting the post-1945 Labour government.