This ideal introduction to the work of Karl Marx represents his most important writings, including the "Theses on Feuerbach"; the complete Communist Manifesto; and substantial selections from "On the Jewish Question," the "Economic-Philosophical Manuscripts of 1844," The German Ideology, Grundrisse, Capital, and The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte, among others.

In addition, documents, letters, and reminiscences offer a portrait of Marx the man--as student, husband, father, enemy, and friend. As Eugene Kamenka writes in his introduction, "This volume, perhaps more so than other Marx anthologies, attempts to present the man with his individual scars, to provide the material for an understanding of Marx himself." Kamenka also includes a chronology of Marx's life and work, a reader's guide to special terms, and an explanatory index.