Robert Service (No, He's Not Dead)

[Your Usual Table]

Was doing a spot of reorganisation of the old bookshelves last night and it turns out that somewhere along the line I procured myself copies of his biographies of Stalin and Trotsky and completely forgot to get around to reading them. That's embarrassing.

Before I start, I'd like to know the official OTF position on him. Reading this old thread I see that TonTon describes him as a "hack" while the LRB review of his Trotsky book gives the impression that he's got a negative agenda when it comes to his subject. Nothing necessarily wrong with that, of course, but I'd like to know what I'm getting into especially seeing as there's a far more acclaimed Trotsky biography out there, by Deutscher.

[Diable Rouge]

Robert Service (No, He's Not Dead)

Sharing the same name as a long-dead Canadian poet doesn't help his recognition.

[Amor de Cosmos]

Robert Service (No, He's Not Dead)

No, I assumed from the title I'd be reading The Resurrection of Sam McGee or some such.

[imp]

Robert Service (No, He's Not Dead)

He only took up writing after quitting his job as a waiter. Apparently he got sick of wise-guys handing him a tip and saying, "Bob's yer service."

[Land Waster]

Robert Service (No, He's Not Dead)

I read the Trotsky biog a few years back. I'm not sure that Service was particularly negative about him - there's a lot to dislike about Trotsky.

He was quite an unsavoury character, as far as I'm concerned.