I'm finding that my knowledge of socialism/communism is woefully incomplete and largely centered around the Cold War period, leaning toward the American perspective. I'm looking for a good book that can describe the socialist/communist movements basically from 1917-present that includes at least the current socialist states (PRC, Republic of Cuba, Loa, and Vietnam). I'm really trying to get the "big picture", and cover many of the points of conversation that come up today. All suggestions welcome!
Edit: Any ideas on if the "The Cambridge History of Communism" Volumes 1-3 would be any good? Looks like it was published only in 2020 so i'm doubtful anyone has really read it yet. Seems to cover the subjects i'm looking for though.
Edit 2: i'm also looking at "Socialism: Past and Future", but seems like the author leans democratic socialist and so may have a specific interpretation to the topic
it's a fictional tv show and not a book, but the fx show "The Americans" does a pretty good job of covering 80s era Cold War topics (Apartheid South Africa, Communist Ethiopia, Sandinistas, Afghanistan). It added a bit of flavor to my understanding of those events. a good, surprisingly sympathetic (to ussr/communism) show