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erika_teal_1414's review against another edition
5.0
While the middle of the book is a little bogged down in history, the last two chapters especially are excellent. Well written and accessible, though I got tired of seeing the words "rank and file" so much. A great book that I would encourage everyone to read.
sean_2005's review against another edition
3.0
This book was different than what I thought it would be. I saw the name "manifesto", and I thought that this is a political or theoretical book, which for 90% of it, it isn't.
This book is more of an introduction to the mass worker's movements in the 20th century, "Socialist History 101" or something like that. Each chapter aside the first two and the last one are divided by topics. For example, there is a chapter about the SPD (The Social-Democratic party of Germany) and a chapter about the Russian Revolution.
So this wasn't what I expected, because for history I'd buy a history book, not a theoretical manifesto. Although it's cons for me, different to my expectations, I find it a good book, doing what he actually does, telling and summarizing socialist history. It was easy to read, the vocabulary was at a very daily level, which is good I think.
I rated it 3 stars because of it being a bit confusing, but aside from that, it's a good read. I recommend to newbies for Socialism and overall the message of the book is optimistic about the future.
This book is more of an introduction to the mass worker's movements in the 20th century, "Socialist History 101" or something like that. Each chapter aside the first two and the last one are divided by topics. For example, there is a chapter about the SPD (The Social-Democratic party of Germany) and a chapter about the Russian Revolution.
So this wasn't what I expected, because for history I'd buy a history book, not a theoretical manifesto. Although it's cons for me, different to my expectations, I find it a good book, doing what he actually does, telling and summarizing socialist history. It was easy to read, the vocabulary was at a very daily level, which is good I think.
I rated it 3 stars because of it being a bit confusing, but aside from that, it's a good read. I recommend to newbies for Socialism and overall the message of the book is optimistic about the future.
bloomis427's review against another edition
2.0
This was a useful book to read, but it focused almost entirely on white, European socialism (Che Guevara didn't even get one mention), aside from several pages on China and maybe one page on Latin America. It also parroted the annoying critiques of identity politics, and even suggested systemic racism was exaggerated and we should focus on class politics. It also frequently delved into topics without providing much context or explanation, so definitely not an accessible text and clearly not meant for people not already intimately familiar with leftist history and terminology. In other words, it was pretentious and often inaccessible. I did learn a lot, but don't fully trust the source.
teaiskey's review against another edition
3.0
More of a history bookthan a manifesto. Whilst it raises some interest points and gives some direction, it fails to really explore what SHOULD be done rather than what already has been done.
lowercase_a's review against another edition
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
3.75
Uma história fascinante de um possível futuro
O Manifesto socialista é ambicioso ao trazer toda a heterogenidade do movimento ao longo de quase dois séculos sob dezenas de governos, culturas, líderes e ideólogos diferentes em um manuscrito de rico arcabouço téorico e necessária introdução da história da ideologia revolucionária ao público contemporânio. Desde da juventude de Engels à queda de Corbyn e acenção de Sanders, entre partidos democrático-socialistas e a opressão do capital, Sunkara apresenta os maiores desafios, assim como soluções, para a verdadeira ascenção do socialismo e defende com vigor o estabelecimento de uma nova ordem social próspera e igualitária.
O Manifesto socialista é ambicioso ao trazer toda a heterogenidade do movimento ao longo de quase dois séculos sob dezenas de governos, culturas, líderes e ideólogos diferentes em um manuscrito de rico arcabouço téorico e necessária introdução da história da ideologia revolucionária ao público contemporânio. Desde da juventude de Engels à queda de Corbyn e acenção de Sanders, entre partidos democrático-socialistas e a opressão do capital, Sunkara apresenta os maiores desafios, assim como soluções, para a verdadeira ascenção do socialismo e defende com vigor o estabelecimento de uma nova ordem social próspera e igualitária.
taberiusrex's review against another edition
4.0
An excellent and convincing read. I've always been sympathetic to socialist and communist perspectives (see: many of my antics as a teenager) but have been hesitant to associate myself openly with the movement. I worried that I lacked a deeper understanding of socialism, its history and its goals, and couldn't conceive of a future in which a socialist government existed.
On the topic of history and goals, at least, I feel more educated and resolved. The book dives deeply into the origins of socialism, communism, and investigating the impacts they've had on the history of the world. The goals of socialism, both in the near-term and the long-term, are laid out in plain language. I'm comfortable now describing myself as an independent socialist, with a perhaps-inevitable slide towards democratic socialist.
There still isn't a great image of the future—the book opens with a promising what-if scenario, but after establishing the history and goals section, we never return to it. I wish that detour existed, if only to reinforce at the end what the book introduced in the beginning. However, it should be noted that the point of the book is to help in forging that future, rather than trying to dictate it outright.
I would recommend this book to anyone who is curious about socialism, what it means and where it came from, as an introduction to the movement. I would also recommend it to socialists who want a straightforward way to convey the ideas of socialism without getting too far into the weeds.
On the topic of history and goals, at least, I feel more educated and resolved. The book dives deeply into the origins of socialism, communism, and investigating the impacts they've had on the history of the world. The goals of socialism, both in the near-term and the long-term, are laid out in plain language. I'm comfortable now describing myself as an independent socialist, with a perhaps-inevitable slide towards democratic socialist.
There still isn't a great image of the future—the book opens with a promising what-if scenario, but after establishing the history and goals section, we never return to it. I wish that detour existed, if only to reinforce at the end what the book introduced in the beginning. However, it should be noted that the point of the book is to help in forging that future, rather than trying to dictate it outright.
I would recommend this book to anyone who is curious about socialism, what it means and where it came from, as an introduction to the movement. I would also recommend it to socialists who want a straightforward way to convey the ideas of socialism without getting too far into the weeds.