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maestro_cerrotorcido's review against another edition
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
I thought this was an incredibly well-done biography. It is a short and accessible biography that focuses heavily on Marx's Das Kapital (the creation, events going on at the time, critiques and responses, etc.). I love how the author is willing to both defend and critique Marx.
shirleymak's review against another edition
4.0
this was required reading for my soc 120 class but huh...it was actually really interesting. The fact that Marx (& Engels) BASICALLY predicted what our lives are right now, back in the 1800s is CRAZY to me.
davidbuchmann's review against another edition
4.0
A great introduction to Marx's work and the historical moment in which he carried it out. Wish I could have read this when studying Marx in college. At the same time, I wish this book had been written yesterday, so that the "Afterlife" section could cover the 2008 Financial Crisis and the debate over neoliberalism and inequality. Alternatively, the "Afterlife" section could have been much abbreviated or left off altogether.
mhersonhord's review against another edition
informative
medium-paced
4.0
In a way it’s really inspiring what a self-sabotaging, procrastinating slob Marx was, given that he still was able to (eventually) churn out a work of brilliance. Ass carbuncles and all, those portions of this “biography” were especially fun to read.
I have quibbles with other arguments Wheen makes – for instance, his critique of the Bolsheviks seems confused and contradictory. Initially, he makes the common (and basically true, if overly simplistic) assessment that Lenin had dethroned the Marxian notion of politics being downstream of society’s economic structure, in favor of placing politics at the helm and the seizure of political power at the center of socialist strategy. Fair enough, but then he immediately turns around and off-handedly diagnoses the central flaw of Bolshevik analysis as their supposed “economic determinism.” What gives? The takedown of Althusser, in contrast, was simply magisterial – it gave me polemic schadenfreude.
I’ve always thought of Capital as one of those big fat books of limited direct purpose in my own life beyond what could be cobbled together from the shorter, simpler secondary sources, but after reading Wheen’s book I think I’m inspired to actually give it (Volume 1, anyway) a go.
I have quibbles with other arguments Wheen makes – for instance, his critique of the Bolsheviks seems confused and contradictory. Initially, he makes the common (and basically true, if overly simplistic) assessment that Lenin had dethroned the Marxian notion of politics being downstream of society’s economic structure, in favor of placing politics at the helm and the seizure of political power at the center of socialist strategy. Fair enough, but then he immediately turns around and off-handedly diagnoses the central flaw of Bolshevik analysis as their supposed “economic determinism.” What gives? The takedown of Althusser, in contrast, was simply magisterial – it gave me polemic schadenfreude.
I’ve always thought of Capital as one of those big fat books of limited direct purpose in my own life beyond what could be cobbled together from the shorter, simpler secondary sources, but after reading Wheen’s book I think I’m inspired to actually give it (Volume 1, anyway) a go.
carnivalchimera's review against another edition
challenging
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
alexgmcm's review against another edition
4.0
A concise summation of Marx and his masterpiece.
Although perhaps unfairly dismissive of Lenin and too forgiving of the modern abuse of Marx in cultural studies etc. that have made his approach the subject of such ridicule, it was in general a very good book that requires only a few hours to read. (I read it in one car journey). It was a nice complement to Chris Harman's History [b:A People's History of the World|185099|A People's History of the World|Chris Harman|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1328820240s/185099.jpg|178910].
Highly recommended.
Although perhaps unfairly dismissive of Lenin and too forgiving of the modern abuse of Marx in cultural studies etc. that have made his approach the subject of such ridicule, it was in general a very good book that requires only a few hours to read. (I read it in one car journey). It was a nice complement to Chris Harman's History [b:A People's History of the World|185099|A People's History of the World|Chris Harman|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1328820240s/185099.jpg|178910].
Highly recommended.
michielstock's review against another edition
2.0
I am not really a history freak, but it was an interesting and short book about history around 'Das Kapital'.