Karl Marx, Fourth Edition: A Biography : Book

Search ISBN:1403997306 offer from Abebooks or used books from Alibris. Karl Marx, Fourth Edition: A Biography Reference Book. Classifications : General Historical Biographies & Memoirs Subjects Books Political Leaders & Notable People Biographies & Memoirs Subjects Books Marx, Karl ( M ) People, A-Z Biographies & Memoirs Subjects Books Genera . Click the following link to view the cover of Karl Marx, Fourth Edition: A Biography.

1) Paperback Book Karl Marx, Fourth Edition: A Biography by Palgrave Macmillan. This well-written account of Marx´s life stands above the rest. It is a sympathetic but not uncritical recounting of Marx´s life. McCellan´s book Karl Marx: Selected Writings is a good companion to his biography.

Lacking in the book, however, is much discussion of the ideas of Marx.

For beginners, a clear presentation of the philosophical background of Marx´s work can be found in Isaih Berlin´s biography of Marx. A variety of opinions about Marx´s political, social, and historical theory can be found in the Cambridge Companion to Marx. Ernst Fischer´s How to Read Karl Marx clearly discusses some of the foundational notions in Marx´s economic theory.¤

2) Paperback Book Karl Marx, Fourth Edition: A Biography by Palgrave Macmillan. David McLellan´s biography of the great man is perhaps the best of of them all. He describes with much wit and feeling Marx´ life, from his upbringing in Trier to his final death in London. But not just this: included are also shorter overviews of various other people who played a significant role in the life of Karl Marx, starting of course with Jenny von Westphalen and Friedrich Engels, but also less well-known people such as Herwegh and Kugelmann. McLellan never introduces anyone without telling you what kind of person he was and what role he played in the politics of the time, making the era truly come alive, with all its grandeur and all its silly infighting.

For this biography is certainly not a hagiography. McLellan shows Marx in all his brilliance and his wit, and as the greatest thinker of the age, but he also shows his bad sides: his vindictiveness, his pettiness, his rudeness, his incompetence at managing his financial and personal affairs, and of course the infamous bastard son. All the childish infighting between the socialist émigrés in London, Bruxelles and Paris is revealed, where Marx certainly does not get off scot-free. But there is also room for showing Marx as a family man, as loyal to his few close friends, and as a visionary thinker.

McLellan focuses primarily on Marx´ life in a "human interest" manner, rather than concentrating on the development of his theories, although those are of course mentioned. Because of this, many amusing and sometimes surprising anecdotes and oddities turn up to keep this book a page-turner. Before our eye passes a carpet belonging to Leibniz, a drunken outing which ends in vandalism and a police chase, Marx on the run for his creditors, yelling at the Prussian censor, Engels making a wine-tasting tour, a chance meeting with Bismarck´s niece, French pornographic verse, carbuncles, and many more things.

There are some minor problems with the book, as can be expected. Occasionally a strange spelling is used ("Carlsbad", "Vera Sassoulitch"), although this may have been fixed in the new edition. The final chapter, an epilogue concerning Marx´ legacy, is very superficial and includes all sorts of nonsense about Marxist theory being outdated, and could best have been left out altogether. There is also the tendency to denigrate Engels undeservedly; but this is unsettlingly common among secondary authors on Marx, and is partially reinforced by Engels´ personal modesty about his contributions. In any case these are all small issues, and any reader interested in the life of Marx as opposed to ´merely´ his theories can do no better but to read this book.¤

All the great political revolutions of the twentieth century referred back to Marx. Reviled by some, revered by many, Marx´s influence can be found in every area of the humanities and social sciences from literary criticism to globalization. In this thoroughly revised and updated new edition of his classic biography, David McLellan provides a clear and detailed account both of Marx´s dramatic life and of his path-breaking thought together with a wealth of bibliographical information for further reading.

Page Updated: Robert N. Goolsby, 13-Nov-2008, 14039973069781403997302, 840-570-710-620-370-061-8

Karl Marx, Fourth Edition: A Biography

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