Rosa Luxemburg was a Jew, a Pole, and a woman who considered herself to be a prophet of socialism - and only a citizen of the proletariat. She dedicated her life to fulfilling the noble dream of socialism in the belief that only socialism could bring true freedom and the end of oppression. Rosa Luxemburg and the Noble Dream covers her life as a theorist, writer, and revolutionary during the years prior to World War I. It concludes with the collapse of Germany during the war, Luxemburg's role in founding the German Communist party, and her execution following the Spartacist rebellion in January of 1919.

The Author: Donald E. Shepardson received his bachelor's degree from Eastern Illinois University and both his masters and doctorate degrees from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He has taught several courses in modern European history at the University of Northern Iowa since 1970 and has published several articles in European diplomatic history.