A review by mx_remy
Socialism: A Very Short Introduction by Michael Newman

3.0

This is a pretty decent introduction. It should probably be called "History of Socialism" though. I have a much better idea of the timelines involved now, with respect to pre-Marxist Utopianism, Soviet style Communism, Maoism, Third Way, etc. However, while the book outlines the main differences between approaches, it doesn't really get into what socialism actually entails. I don't really feel like I understand the actual concepts any more than I did before. Also, the book discusses Social Democracy at length, but literally never once mentions Democratic Socialism. Finally, the writing style is a little repetitive and lacks flair. I can't in good conscience give this book more than 3 stars, but for lack of any alternative brief introductions, I still recommend it.