Karl Marx Paperback – 7 May 2010

Amazon Review

Karl Marx, whose influence on modern times has been compared to that of Jesus Christ, spent most of his lifetime in obscurity. Penniless, exiled in London, estranged from relations and on the run from most of the police forces of Europe, his ambitions as a revolutionary were frequently thwarted and his major writings on politics and economics remained unpublished (in some cases until after the Second World War). He has not lacked biographers, but even the most distinguished have been more interested in the evolution of his ideas than any other aspect of his life. Francis Wheen's fresh, lively and moving biography of Marx considers the whole man--brain, beard and the rest of his body. Unencumbered by ideological point-scoring, this is a very readable, humorous and sympathetic account. A Guardian columnist, Wheen has an ear for juicy gossip and an eye for original detail. Marx comes over as a hell-raising bohemian, an intellectual bully and a perceptive critic of capitalist chaos, but also a family man of Victorian conformity personally vetting his daughters' suitors, Victorian ailments (carbuncles above all) and Victorian weaknesses, notably alcohol, tobacco and, on occasion, his housekeeper. But there is great pathos, too, as Marx witnessed the deaths of four of his six children. For those readers who feel Marxism has given Marx a bad name, this is a rewarding and enlightening book. --Miles Taylor

Review

'I'll read anything by Francis Wheen, even a biography of Karl Marx, and my trust was not misplaced: the simple elegance of the writing, and Wheen's ability to winkle humour out of the most unpromising, results in a book which is far more pleasurable than anyone had the right to expect.' -- Nick Hornby, Guardian

'If you always thought the grim, bearded prophet of the collapse of capitalism was a figure far beyond any kind of joke, then think again ... The result is more less unmitigated delight.' -- Niall Ferguson, Mail on Sunday

'Wheen wears his considerable learning about Marx's career with the lapidary lightness of a fine columnist, and can be as witty and quotable as his subject. It is a boldly unfashionable book, but a delightful one.' -- Terry Eagleton, Observer

A magnificently lively, compulsively readable book . . . Wheen's triumph' A.N.Wilson, Spectator 'Stunning ... witty, subtle and beautifully written ... Wheen's Karl is a warm, rumbustious, impulsive, irresponsible, bumbling giant with a big heart and a vast ego.' -- Independent