{"product_id":"2026200007229-secondhand-the-merchant-of-revolution-the-life-of-alexander-israel-helphand-parvus-1867-1924","title":"The Merchant Of Revolution: The Life Of Alexander Israel Helphand (Parvus) 1867-1924","description":"\u003cp\u003eEdition: First Edition\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eCondition remarks:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBook: Good                          \u003cbr\u003eJacket: Wear and tear\u003cbr\u003ePages: Good                  \u003cbr\u003eMarkings: No markings\u003cbr\u003eCondition remarks: Foxing on block - does not extend internally. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA meticulously researched political biography, The Merchant of Revolution: The Life of Alexander Israel Helphand (Parvus) 1867-1924 chronicles the extraordinary and turbulent life of one of history's most enigmatic revolutionary figures. Born into poverty in the Russian Pale of Settlement, Helphand — known by his alias Parvus — reinvented himself as a Marxist theorist, arms dealer, war profiteer, and key architect of the scheme to transport Lenin back to Russia in the sealed train, making him a shadowy catalyst of the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution. Zeman and Scharlau present a portrait of a man whose insatiable appetite for wealth and power placed him at the intersection of socialist ideology and ruthless capitalism, embodying a profound contradiction that fascinated and repelled his contemporaries in equal measure. Drawing on archival sources across multiple countries, the authors uncover the full scope of Parvus's influence on European socialist movements, German wartime strategy, and the revolutionary upheavals that reshaped the twentieth century. Written with scholarly authority yet propelled by the momentum of a political thriller, this biography stands as the definitive account of a man who profited from revolution while helping to ignite it.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Secondhand Stock","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48887881564379,"sku":"2026200007229-SECONDHAND","price":80.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0523\/7646\/9701\/files\/530d51ab-3e16-4e1c-808a-2f885ce9e12e.png?v=1781747672","url":"https:\/\/bookgrocer.com\/products\/2026200007229-secondhand-the-merchant-of-revolution-the-life-of-alexander-israel-helphand-parvus-1867-1924","provider":"Book Grocer","version":"1.0","type":"link"}