Welcome to Issue 18 of the Communist History Network Newsletter. We are sorry to have missed our usual spring issue this year and trust readers will appreciate that for each of us the Newsletter is one of many commitments maintained under considerable pressure. We are however back to schedule. Like the current issue, the next one will feature reviews of a range of recent publications including a new history of the left-wing British train drivers’ union ASLEF; the story of two Finnish-American radicals from the Mendocino coast and their later experiences in the USSR; and proceedings from a recent international colloquium, Parler de soi sous Staline. Authors and publishers of relevant works are always encouraged to send us copies for review.

In the meantime, we are pleased to announce that the job of producing the Newsletter is henceforth to be shared by a third co-editor, Norman La Porte, of the University of Glamorgan. Many readers will be familiar with Norry’s writings on German communism, notably his book The German Communist Party in Saxony, 1924-1933 (Lang, 2003), and his review of Reiner Tosstorff’s study of the Profintern appears in the current issue. Particularly in respect of German-language materials, Norry will provide an invaluable addition to the editorial team.

In addition to the print edition, recent issues of the CHNN are also available for download in both Word and .pdf format on the Newsletter website, where the full contents of all issues can also be read online. The deadline for submissions for the Spring 2006 edition of the Newsletter is March 30 2006, and contributions are welcomed.

Editors CHNN
Politics section
School of Social Sciences
University of Manchester M13 9PL

CHNN on-line: http://les1.man.ac.uk/chnn