The far left in Australia had significant effects on post-war politics, culture and society. The Communist Party of Australia (CPA) ended World War II with some 20,000 members, and despite the harsh and vitriolic Cold War climate of the 1950s, seeded or provided impetus for the re-emergence of other movements. Radicals subscribing to ideologies beyond the Soviet orbit - Maoists, Trotskyists, anarchists and others - also created parties and organisations and led movements. All of these different far left parties and movements changed and shifted during time, responding to one political crisis or another, but they remained steadfastly devoted to a better world.

This collection, bringing together 14 chapters from leading and emerging figures in the Australian and international historical profession, for the first time charts some of these significant moments and interventions, revealing the Australian far left's often forgotten contribution to the nation's history.

"The contributors and editors have delivered on their claims to 'begin the process of properly piecing together the far left's long-term impact on Australia' in service of activist history by heeding Walter Benjamin's bid to 'appropriate a memory as it flashes up in a moment of danger' (14). This is an indispensable resource that is essential reading for all students and would-be practitioners of activist history." - Joe Collins, Australian Historical Studies