Customer Reviews
Pretty Good on Peter Singer's Views on Marx - By: Nicholas Lees, 09 Apr 2010 
Let's be frank: this is a book that will be bought by undergraduates to brush up on their understanding of Marx for an essay or an exam. It fills this purpose pretty well, giving a good overview of Marx as a political thinker. It is a well written book, I read itin one sitting after finding up a copyin a second-hand bookshop. Particularly good is Singer's treatment of how Marx's thought developed out of an engagement with Hegel. Singer is also fairin regards both the limitations of Marx as a social prophet & his strength as a critic of capitalism & theorist of human freedom. Thankfully little time is wasted on the blind alley of 'dialectical materialism' (a phrase Marx never used). What is odd, however, is how dismissive Singer is of Marx as a social or historical thinker. A bit surprising, considering the influence Marx's materialist ideas have had over thinkers including Braudel, Weber, Adorno, Hobsbawm, Sraffa, EH Carr & many others. But other than this, the book is successful at what it intends to do, providing a good introduction to a student new to Marx. For a detailed interrogation of Marx as a social theorist, I recommend GA Cohen's 'Karl Marx's Theory of History: A Defence'.
Excellent book - By: Rusty Shackleford, 07 Nov 2009 
I have to agree with the other reviewers here, this book does exactly what it says on the tin,in an even-handed & unbiased fashion. This is very rarein the academia of marxism, & cannot be praised enough.
Interesting analysis of the great philosopher - By: LXIX, 11 Oct 2009 Written by a professor from Princeton University, this small 108 page book provides a useful anaysis of Marx's thinking & tracks how he gradually came to arrive at his influential revolutionary ideas. If you're wanting a quick read about the life of Marx that is jam-packed with anecdotes about his drinking at university, his deportations from France & Belgium, the hours spentin the reading room of the British Museum, & his affair with the maid ... then this is not the book for you. Instead "Marx: A Very Short Introduction" is much more of a quick fly-through of Marx's main ideas & literary output. This book then is more of a philosophical insight into Marx (facilitated, for example, by discussing the early influences upon him such as Hegel & Feuerbach).
The book is split into the following chapters:
*A Life & its impact
*The Young Hegelian
*From god to money
*Enter the proletariat
*The First Marxism
*Alienation as a theory of history
*The goal of history
*Economics
*Communism
*An assessment
If you have no backgroundin philosophy then you'll probably find this a tough (but worthwhile) read. If you're a Marxist you'll probably also take issue with some of the author's summary viewsin the final chapter.
Overall, this very short introduction is a good elementary grounding about Marx's ideas & is keenly priced.
Excellent Read - By: R. Naglis, 19 Jan 2009 Singer has done a great job with this Very Short Introduction to Karl Marx. He explain's Marx's key points mostlyin chronological order whilst peppering this with an insight into Marx's own development outside of his written work. At times the text does become a little dense, but the complexity of the material Singer explains may necessitate this. If you have never read any of Marx's material or simply wish to understand his theoryin a more holistic way this is an excellent buy.
Excellent if you are a beginner - By: Lilly Penhaligon, 02 Feb 2006 If you don't know anything, or know very little about Marx & his ideas & you need to brush up but don't have the time to sit for hoursin a library, then get this book. I am a complete beginner with Marx, I had heard of him but knew nothing about his ideas. I had to acquire this knowledgein a very short space of time for an essay that I was writing for my Masters. This book was perfect, just enough information to give me the basics without getting to indepth ANDin an easy to read format.
It covers eventsin his life as well as his main achievements & ideas.
This book makes no assumptions that you know anythign about Marxism so it is very easy to follow whilst avoiding being patronising or school bookish. In fact the Very Short Introduction series are actually written by very eminent scholarsin the field so it by no means superficial or textbook material.
This is an excellent introduction to Marxism, it will give you the basics & will help you identify areas of further reading or study if you are so inclined. If you need an indepth, detailed look at his ideas/theories/life, then this isn't the book for you.
