ABSTRACT
John Reed lived and died an undomesticated American radical. He did not fit into the established order before he became a Communist, and he did not fit into the order established by Communism. For some Communists, especially intellectuals, the act of joining a disciplined movement represents a sharp break in their lives. The Communist version was given in 1936 by Granville Hicks in the only full-scale biography of Reed. Though Hicks himself ceased to be a Communist three years later, he has not changed his mind about the problem of Reed's disillusionment. According to Max Eastman, Reed's fight with Gregory Zinoviev and Karl Radek reached its height at the Baku Congress. Reed was offended by Zinoviev's demagogy and Radek's cynicism. He was shocked by their luxurious living on the way to and from Baku.
