The book starts with the author using an advanced word to describe Marx as “Teutonic genius” which means German genius. He explained the problem of compressing Marx’s theories and philosophies into twenty or thirty words from a two hundred or three hundred words. The next page one would find a big, blurry, hairy and a fat face staring at the reader and then he or she knows it’s a picture of Marx. His long beard and hair curl around his face. The author talks on how Karl Marx is seen today: a Jewish- German who everyone blames for the creation of communism which now one-third of the world practice while two-thirds argue about it. At the side there is a comic of a priest who is dressed in a cassock with a hood who says, “Holy Jesus! The anti-Christ”. Words like Bolshevik, Marxist, Socialist, Leninism, Communist and many more are all influenced by Marx. These words owe some part of their origin to Marx. A comic is there below this a professor pronounces some of these terms and there is a student next to him who has a big question mark above his head. Marx talks about everything from economics, literature, human relations, social change, and education to journalism and many more things. The book makes funny of Marx’s face by saying that one will find his hair everywhere. The book mentions the knowledge and practice of his ideas: the impossible and the possible. It talks about freedom of exploitation of man from man. There is a comic of a well- dressed man who says “That’s not true! I owe my boss it (freedom) to my boss” and at the side his boos stood in shabby and beggarly clothes. The book explains that indirect victories of socialism like social security, pension, union, scholarships are all victories of Marx. This is the first part of the book which gives the contents of the book in a few words.
The book then moves on to what the life of Marx. The book talks about his father who is a lawyer, on Marx’s education. The book mention about his troubled time in the Berlin University where thinkers are asking questions on life. It goes on to point out Marx’s turn towards Hegel a philosopher who became one of the greatest influences in his life. The book then drags in a lot of philosopher, their philosophies and their explanations. He then become an editor starting from the Hegelian Magazine and the switching been other various ones. It was in the Rehnish Gazette that he started his political journalism. The book then brings in his childhood love Jenny Von Westphalen and how her father encouraged Marx to read Greek and renaissance work. The book then brings in Engels Marx’s good friend and one of the greatest persons influencing his life. The book talks a bit on Engels. Then we come to third part where the book actually explains the ideologies of Marx.
EVALUATION
The author has taken up a challenge by explaining one of the most sophisticated philosophers of human kind. He has explained Marx’s concepts life, his influences, his concepts and many other things very well. He has managed to simplify and uncomplicated Marx’s life and work. The author has made use of the caricatures well and this has helped in simplifying Marx. Through the cartoons one is able to get a visual of what the author means to point out. The book has humour and it is applied well. Through the humour one will be able to understand the complicated concepts of Marx. Another admirable author is how he has managed to smoothly switch and connected every concept of Marx.
The author though has managed to do this has made it a bit of confusing by brining so many philosophers, though one must agree all these have influenced Marx (as seen in his work) it confuses a simple minded person.
The best part of the book is the application of the cartoons which a reader knows will make everything simpler for him or her. The worst part of the book is how he brings in so many philosophers which is very confusing to a reader to come across so many more philosophers when he just want one.
CONCLUSION
This is a book is a must for any person who is a first to Karl Marx and his theories. It makes understanding like never before with new innovated methods of cartoons. It covers all grounds of Marx in sufficient detail, enough to grasp his concept.
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