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charles_fried's review against another edition
5.0
This is an amazing book which humanizes Marx and presents the histotrical context behind his work from the perspective of the man and hrs family making him accesible and sympathetic. It is an inestimably sad story on do many levels however. Five stars!
nschwenkbeck's review against another edition
3.0
Interesting look into a very important and controversial figure in world history. I enjoyed learning of a more human Marx and the struggles he and his family endured in making his vision come to life. The relationship between Marx and Engles was also enlightening and the book did a fantastic job in showing how close these two men were. The story of the Marx daughters was a tragic one, but also a story of devotion to a cause that truly was their entire world.
pearl35's review against another edition
4.0
Very interesting group biography of Karl Marx and his extended family--the aristocratic Prussian in-laws, the surviving daughters, the hangers on of Engels, the sons-in-law, the lover/housemaid, the secret son, the refugee friends, the Jewish connections and the larger social context of the 1840s and 50s radicals and reformers in London, Brussels, Paris and Central Europe.
zalopunk's review against another edition
3.0
No, no me había olvidado de este libro, llegué más o menos al 80% de este, pero me terminó por cansar. La vida de Marx es interesante, pero no todo es tan interesante. Valoro mucho el libro por darnos una visión más humana y menos deificada de este gran filosofo. Pero a ratos fue demasiado texto.
djflippy's review against another edition
5.0
Presents a unique view on Karl Marx, as it's told through the letters written to and from his family. It focuses more on his relationships with family and friends, than it does on his critique of political economy, which is something you will find nowhere else.
emdowd's review against another edition
3.0
Maybe for someone who has more of a vested interest in the political turmoil of the 19th Century, the entire book might've been enjoyable. It's certainly comprehensive and an impressive feat of scholarship, but I found myself exponentially more interested in the Marx's family drama and less in the politics. I realize you can't truly separate the two, but for a book with Jenny Marx's name in the title, I would have liked to hear more about her and less about failed revolution after failed revolution.
vanjr's review against another edition
4.0
This was a very interesting read about Karl Marx and his family. It made me wonder if indeed if all biographies should be in the context of family-the family tells us so much more than the mere individualistic pictures sometimes presented. This book certainly made me more aware of Marx's concerns and ideas. However it is interesting the end of the family and repercussions of his life. It reminds me of a quote, "There is a way that seems right to a man, but there in is the way of death."
jacobinreads's review against another edition
5.0
A fascinating portrait of Karl Marx, his family life, and a revolutionary period. Mary Gabriel captures the spirit of the age, the intimacies of the personal life of Marx and Engels and showcases the brilliance, thought, faults and foibles of Marx the man. She also paints the tragedy, brilliance, and enormous emotional labour of the revolutionary women of Marx's time and family, and gives worthy celebration of their own lives and achievements. Worth a read.