I have read better books on Karl Marx. However, this one is good for the non-historian types who like to read about history and biographies of important people in 19th century history. I enjoyed it because it was easy to read and has some great glossy photos. I have the hardcover edition so not sure if the photos are glossy in the paperback. Anyway, I did like this book. Marx was such an important figure, but in his day did not get the attention he deserved. Wheen makes mention in the introductions that only eleven people attended Marx's funeral. Amazing. Still there are not nearly as many books written about Karl Marx as there are about Marxism in general. Wheen focuses on Karl Marx and his life and times. I good biography.

This book is pretty good but I was disapointed because there was not enough on Marx's youth; there was probably about a half chapter on how he acted as a child and as a student. Robert Service's biography on Lenin covered the subject of youth in a grandoise matter; tracing Lenin's roots back a few generations. From what I have heard, Isaah Berlin's biography is the best on Marx; the strong points in this biogrpahy are as follows: Marx's adult social life, the scene in the 19th Century, Engels influence, and MArx's ideas. When I picked this book up I did not think there would be anything to do with Marx's ideas but only details about his life; If you have never read anything on Marx I would say that this book is good b/c Wheen has many excerpts from MArx's life.

This book is chilling reading. It is difficult to put one's finger on the reason why. Perhaps because Karl Marx (1818-1883) was always a distant person - even while he lived As Marxism flickers out, Wheen takes us back in time to find the "historical Marx". A solid grounding in 19th century European history will make reading this work a lot more interesting. Wheen's book is whimsical, eclectic, comprehensive, and humorous, but it presupposes a knowledge of the 19th and 20th century European revolutionary and political history which is rapidly fading from our 21st century minds. This book dwells as much on Marx's family life as on his political life. ----Wheen's work is filled with fascinating anecdotes. It does not explain Karl Marx, but this man was so complicated that no one (including himself) may have ever understood his motivations. He was a family man, deeply devoted to his wife and six children, four of whom died before he did. (The other two who took their own lives!) On the other hand he quarreled with and was hated by scores - if not hundreds - of former friends. Karl Marx was not a likeable man. This book uncovers hundreds of gems about his life that most persons who studied "Marxism" or "Communism" would never stumble on: for example, the moves in a chess game he played in 1867 (he lost!). That he was precocious, to the point of being expelled from Prussia, France, and Belgium - each time by royal order - before he reached 30 years of age. While many are vaguely aware of Marx's friendship with Friedrich Engels, how many know that it began when Marx was 26 and Engels was 23? Or that Engels was one of only 11 persons present at Marx's funeral 37 years later! Wheen has done an excellent job on a very difficult topic!

"Lord Gnome's Literary Companion" is funny and terribly witty and maybe even serves a purpose though I'm not sure what. But after a few minutes of slogging through the huffy sarcasm and personal attacks against succesful authors, you do start to get the feeling that there's more going on here than the need to deflate egos. It's obvious that for the anonymous critics it's so much easier to be clever than to actually say something or even attempt to. In other words it's easier to write an anonymous personal attack, laid thick with cynicism, nihilism, jealousy, hostility and aggression than it is to attempt an actual meaningful work of art. So here the 'writers' of Lord Gnome's companion prove the point that it's not so easy this writing business, is it. If it was then that's what we'd be doing instead of slinging crud anonymously. Because you know what boys, a so-called critique is not really art.

Exuberantly caustic. To wit, from a review of Michael Jackson's book of poetry (!): "Poetry is sissy stuff that rhymes. Usually, you can't give it away. But this little bundle of bosh is riding high in the bestseller charts, up there with _Diana_ and the Michelin Guide to stuffing your face . . . . 'Course, it's not so easy, as a visit to the book section of any Virgin record shop soon shows. There you see them, the young, in all their glory, patiently holding books up to their ears, or doggedly trying to insert them into the slots of their CD-players . . .". If you've been howling over Joe Queenan's recent bit of bile, you don't know what you've been missing. Check it out.

This book is a witty, wide-screen picture of the back-scratching and log-rolling that infest the literary establishment. Since I edited it, and wrote quite a bit of it, I need hardly add that it's compulsive reading. -- Francis Wheen

A good book for those who relish history. A bit dull at times, but all in all, a good read.