This book is an analytical study of the history of modern socialism from 1889, when the Second International was founded, up to the present. The biographical portraits of the individuals chosen in this study provide insight into important issues in socialist history. These contrasting studies of twenty prominent socialistsomajor thinkers and important activists or agitatorsoilluminate particular problems in the historical evolution of socialism. The book's final chapter offers a substantial analysis of developments in the post-war period and an exploration of the crises facing contemporary world socialism in all its guises.