The Death of Trotsky

On August 20, 1940, Leon Trotsky invited a man he knew only as Jacques Mornard into his study, where Mornard smashed an ice pick into Trotsky’s skull.

For over a decade, Joseph Stalin had hunted Trotsky across Europe and into exile in Mexico, liquidating his family and friends.

Josh Ireland traces the paths of Trotsky and assassin Ramón Mercader, a Soviet agent who posed as a Belgian playboy, blending intimate historical detail and thrilling narrative across Moscow, Paris, and Mexico.