The late Francois Furet was acknowledged as this century's preeminent historian of the French Revolution. But several years before his untimely death, he turned his attention to the consequences and aftermath of another critical revolution in the history of the modern world - the Communist revolution. The result, Le passe d'une illusion, was published initially in France, where it was critically acclaimed and went on to be a bestseller.

Not surprisingly, it also became a catalyst for discussion and controversy on both sides of the Atlantic. Now available in English, The Passing of an Illusion can be understood, certainly, as a study of Communism but also as a history of the myth of Communism as it was perpetuated by its admirers.

Furet illuminates how the support for Communism and its embodiment, the Soviet Union, became virtually synonymous with "anti-Fascism" and how this intellectually strategic arrangement reverberated through the West.