A portrait of Leon Trotsky as a youth, this book was written by Max Eastman in 1925 with the author's permission. It charts Trotsky's development, in the turbulent struggles of late 19th century Russia, from the idealist romanticism of the Narodniks to the revolutionary school of Marxism. Re-published today for the centenary of his birth, it is a highly readable introduction to the life of a great revolutionary leader. It bears witness to the self-sacrifice, devotion to the working class and passionate struggle for theory which characterised Trotsky's early years and the whole of his life.