Karl Marx

Wood delves deep into Marxist thought in an effort to find the truth of Marx's thought. Marx is defended by Wood from many common, and more commonly erroneous, interpretations of Marxist thought that has surfaced in the many years since Marx's thoughts became influential. "Karl Marx" is a very well structured book, with the structure revolving around five major topics of Marx's work; alienation, historical materialism, Marx's thought on morality, philosophical materialism and the dialectical method. As one of the most respected works on Marx's philosophical thought, you expect an in-depth, concise and authoritative book, and this is exactly what you get. This book is very heavy in the philosophical content, if you haven't read much of Marx, then you will probably get bogged down in this advanced work, so there are probably easier-to-follow books out there to start on. Overall this is a remarkable book, advanced and authoritative, it should be a prerequisite for anyone interested in a proper understanding of Marxism.

Wood's review of Marx's theories is best summed up by the question of whether the German philosopher was just that. Certainly he obtained a doctorate in the field, but Wood contends that Marx was a commentator on the settings of the society in which he lived. Though the text is verbose at times, it is a good review of Marx's material in light of this unusual thesis. It examines in detail the early theory of alienation, though it considers the idea too vague to be of much use as it was originally composed. Commenting on Marx's other theories, Wood introduces once again his idea that Marx had no moral compuncture, contrary to commonly-held opinion. The difference between moral and non-moral lies in its ability to be quantified, nothing else. Ideas such as these pervade the text, cauing the reader to address his own perceptions of Marx. Not for the unitiated or shallow of mind.