The New York Times Book Review - James Miller
…Avineri treats Marx not as a "figure of the past," but as a "prophet of the present"…Approachably succinct…Avineri's humane biography capably makes the case for taking Marx seriously today as a pragmatic realist, as well as a messianic visionary who "never lost his belief in a redemptive future."
From the Publisher
"Besides being approachably succinct, Avineri’s sympathetic account is distinguished by its appearance in the highly regarded Jewish Lives series."—James Miller, New York Times"Mr. Avineri’s treatment of Marx is a perceptive and fair-minded corrective to superficial treatments of the man. . . . [H]ere lies the central strength of this short biography: It tells us what Marx actually wrote."—Jonathan Rose, Wall Street Journal“The biographer cuts through his subject’s [prose], distilling its underlying theory of man’s alienation from the work of his hands by the commercialization of labor in far simpler terms than the writer himself.”—Sara Jo Ben Zvi, Segula “In his brisk, approachable book, Avineri, . . . former director-general of Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, paints a nuanced picture of the development of Marx’s ideas.”—The Forward"Superb."—Rabbi A. James Rudin, Reform Judaism "Avineri’s ability to show the reader a changing, learning, Marx while contextualizing him and his work within the 19th century, his peers, as well as our current perceptions about him cannot be captured in snippets here, but also cannot be overstated. This is the greatest strength of the book, especially when he applies it to passages and works of Marx you thought you knew, and makes for a great reading experience."—David Murphy, Open Letters Review"Avineri’s Marx: Philosophy and Revolution distinguishes itself by approaching Marx from a less familiar angle: Marx’s Jewish heritage and its implications for the development of his philosophical outlook. . . . [A] refreshingly concise biography."—Igor Shoikhedbrod, Marx and Philosophy Review of Books"Sympathetic and highly readable."—Maron L. Waxman, Jewish Book Council"Shlomo Avineri . . . a world authority on Marxism, presents a beautifully clear introduction to Marx’s thought and its Hegelian origins. . . . The originality of his book lies in Avineri’s belief that Marx’s Jewish background left large fingerprints on his work."—Vernon Bogdanor, Jewish Chronicle"A valuable and unique contribution to a growing collection of literature examining the contemporary campus."—Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly"It is Avineri’s concern for the complex question of Marx’s identity as a Jew that makes his new biography truly distinctive."—Peter E. Gordon, New Republic“Shlomo Avineri has written a wonderfully perceptive and nuanced biography of Karl Marx—paying all due attention (but no more than that) to Jewish interests, Marx's and ours. His book is both intellectually and politically engaging—and a pleasure to read.”—Michael Walzer, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, NJ
