《失败了的神》所收集的都是过去曾是共产党员的论文，包括了法国的安德鲁•纪德（ANDRE GIDE），匈牙利的亚瑟•柯斯勒）ARTHUR KOESTLER《正午的黑暗》作者），英国诗人斯蒂芬•史宾德（STEPHEN SPENDER），意大利剧作家依纳齐奥•西隆尼（IGNAZIO SILONE），理查德•赖特（RICHARD WRIGHT），以及美国的鲍德温和埃立逊。这些理想主义者都曾是共产党员，不久都对苏联与斯大林的作为失望。《失败了的神》出版时曾引起世界各国文化思想界一阵震动。

The God That Failed is a classic work and crucial document of the Cold War that brings together essays by six of the most important writers of the twentieth century on their conversion to and subsequent disillusionment with communism. In describing their own experiences, the authors illustrate the fate of leftism around the world. Andre Gide (France), Richard Wright (the United States), Ignazio Silone (Italy), Stephen Spender (England), Arthur Koestler (Germany), and Louis Fischer, an American foreign correspondent, all tell how their search for the betterment of humanity led them to communism, and the personal agony and revulsion which then caused them to reject it. David Engerman's new foreword to this central work of our time recounts the tumultuous events of the era, providing essential background. It also describes the book's origins and impact, the influence of communism in American intellectual life, and how the events described in The God That Failed continue to affect public discourse today.