A book by many hands of various nationalities, dealing with the fate of Communist parties in the post-Stalinist era. A major theme is the role of "democratic centralism," a hallmark of Communist orthodoxy, often a bulwark against change and adaptation. Some of the authors are or were members of the party, others experienced analysts of aspects of communism. A survey of the individual parties, all of which are in varying stages of decline, mostly written before the rise of Gorbachev.