Episode · Lex Fridman Podcast · 2024-09-20
Lex Fridman & Vejas Liulevicius: books mentioned on Lex Fridman Podcast #444
#444 – Vejas Liulevicius: Communism, Marxism, Nazism, Stalin, Mao, and Hitler
Vejas Liulevicius is a historian specializing in Germany and Eastern Europe, who has lectured extensively on Marxism and the rise, the reign, and the fall of Communism. Thank you for listening ❤ Check out our sponsors: https://lexfridman.
Lex Fridman discussed The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx and others, Das Capital Volume One by Karl Marx, Fifth Business by Robertson Davies, The Manticore by Robertson Davies, and World of Wonders by Robertson Davies. Vejas Liulevicius recommended Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak, The Whisperers by Orlando Figes, Witness by Whittaker Chambers, and The Deptford Trilogy by Robertson Davies, and discussed The Origin of Species by Charles Darwin, What is to be done? by Nikolay Gavrilovich Chernyshevsky, The prince by Niccolò Machiavelli, The Gulag Archipelago by Aleksandr Isaevich Solzhenit︠s︡yn, Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler, and Main currents of Marxism by Leszek Kolakowski.
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
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The Communist Manifesto
The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels is a foundational 1848 political pamphlet that outlines the core tenets of Marxism, class struggle, and the eventual overthrow of the capitalist system.
Discussed“I would love to sort of talk about the works of Marx, "The Communist Manifesto" and the "Das Kapital."”
Where to get it
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Das Capital Volume One
Das Capital Volume One by Karl Marx is a foundational 1867 text detailing Marxist economic theory, labor, and capitalism.
Discussed“I would love to sort of talk about the works of Marx, "The Communist Manifesto" and the "Das Kapital."”
Where to get it
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The Origin of Species
Charles Darwin’s foundational work on evolutionary biology, The Origin of Species, outlines the theory of evolution by natural selection and presents extensive evidence connecting biological and geological phenomena.
Discussed“"Das Kapital" is intended to be the "Origin of Species" of its realm of economic thought and represents years and years of work of Marx laboring in the British Museum Library, working through statistics, working on little bits and pieces of a larger answer to big historical questions that he believes that he's arrived at.”
Where to get it
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Doctor Zhivago
Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak is a sweeping historical novel that chronicles the turbulent life of a physician and poet amidst the chaos of the Russian Revolution.
Recommended“there's few works of literature that are as powerful as Boris Pasternak's, "Doctor Zhivago" for giving just the whole sweep of contending forces in a power vacuum.”
Where to get it
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What is to be done?
What Is to Be Done? by Nikolay Gavrilovich Chernyshevsky is a nineteenth-century Russian philosophical novel that famously explored utopian ideals and radical social reform.
Discussed“Among them was Nikolay Chernyshevsky, who wrote, what's been called, the worst book ever written. It was in fact one of Lenin's favorite books, in Russian it's (speaking in Russian). In English it gets translated "What is to Be Done?"”
Where to get it
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The prince
The Prince by Niccolò Machiavelli is a classic 16th-century political treatise offering a pragmatic, unflinching guide on how political power is acquired, maintained, and wielded.
Discussed“It gets said about Stalin that he used to spend a lot of time flipping through Machiavelli's "The Prince."”
Where to get it
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The Whisperers
The Whisperers by Orlando Figes is a historical work that documents the lives of several families surviving through the Stalin period in the Soviet Union.
Recommended“Orlando Figes has a amazing book called "The Whisperers," that traces several families' history in the Stalin period.”
Where to get it
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The Gulag Archipelago
The Gulag Archipelago by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn is a monumental historical exposé detailing the brutal Soviet forced labor camp system through survivor testimonies, archival research, and the author's own imprisonment.
Discussed“Solzhenitsyn's "Gulag Archipelago" is full of stories of dedicated communists who find themselves in the gulag”
Where to get it
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Mein Kampf
Mein Kampf is Adolf Hitler's notorious autobiographical manifesto detailing his political ideology and antisemitic worldview.
Discussed“To try to analyze Hitler's acts or alleged motives in the absence of the ideology that he himself subscribed to and described in hateful detail in "Mein Kampf" and other manifestos and speeches, is an enterprise that's doomed to failure, justifiably.”
Where to get it
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Main currents of Marxism
Discussed“the Polish philosopher, Leszek Kolakowski, who was at first a committed communist and then later became disillusioned and wrote a three volume study of Marxist thought called "Currents of Marxism."”
Where to get it
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Witness
Witness by Whittaker Chambers is a powerful autobiographical account by a former Soviet spy who renounced communism and became a central figure in American anti-communist politics during the mid-twentieth century.
Recommended“One of the most amazing books of the 20th century is the book written by Whittaker Chambers, who had served as a Soviet spy. First a committed communist, then a Soviet spy, and then later a renegade from those allegiances. His book is entitled, "Witness," it published in 1952, and it's one of the most compelling books you could ever”
Where to get it
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The Deptford Trilogy
The Deptford Trilogy by Robertson Davies is a celebrated three-novel series by the renowned Canadian author.
Recommended“And he's most famous probably for "The Deptford Trilogy," three novels in a series that are linked, and they're just masterful. If only there were more books like that.”
Where to get it
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Fifth Business
Fifth Business by Robertson Davies is a celebrated novel that forms the first installment of the author's acclaimed Deptford Trilogy.
Discussed“- "The Deptford Trilogy," "Fifth Business," "The Manticore," "World of Wonders," and he got a really nice beard.”
Where to get it
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The Manticore
Discussed“- "The Deptford Trilogy," "Fifth Business," "The Manticore," "World of Wonders," and he got a really nice beard.”
Where to get it
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World of Wonders
Discussed“- "The Deptford Trilogy," "Fifth Business," "The Manticore," "World of Wonders," and he got a really nice beard.”
Where to get it
Other mentions in this episode (1) — ad reads, self-promotion and passing references, never counted
“My second book, which is entitled "The German Myth of the East," which appeared with Oxford University Press,”