Eric Hobsbawm is dead

"An unrepentant Marxist, he acknowledged the failure of 20th Century communism but said he had not given up on Marxist ideals. In April, he told fellow historian Simon Schama he would like to be remembered as "somebody who not only kept the flag flying, but who showed that by waving it you can actually achieve something, if only good and readable books"." (thanks Turgul)