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Loading... Karl Marx: A Biographyby David McLellan
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References to this work on external resources. Wikipedia in English (27)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. No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)335.4092Social sciences Economics Socialism and related systems Marxian systems Marxism History, geographic treatment, biography BiographiesLC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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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an epilogue concerning Marx' legacy, is very superficial and includes all sorts of nonsense about Marxist theory being outdated, and could best have been left out altogether.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. ( )