Maurice Thorez

As a major communist figure of the twentieth century, Maurice Thorez (1900–1964) deserved a full-scale, well-informed biography. He was the embodiment of French communism in its Stalinist years and a prominent member of the international communist elite until the very end of his life. In a classical and limpid form, John Bulaitis’ biography perfectly renders Thorez’s role and importance. His book relies on a thorough and skilful use of Thorez’s private papers and diaries of French ‘Archives Nationales’, which are the backbone for the work, as well as his personal library in Ivry (Thorez’s electoral fiefdom in Parisian communist suburbia). Cross-referencing this biographical evidence with Comintern archives and other major sources, such as Dimitrov’s diary and the political autobiography Thorez wrote in 1932, Bulaitis builds a vivid and convincing portrait of the French communist leader. He manages to do what had not yet been done: to thoroughly recompose Thorez’s political...

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