Das Kapital. Kritik der politischen Oekonomie.

First edition of the second volume of Das Kapital, edited from Marx's manuscripts by Friedrich Engels. "Marx himself modestly described Das Kapital as a continuation of his Zur Kritik de politischen Oekonomie, 1859. It was in fact the summation of his quarter of a century's economic studies, mostly in the Reading Room of the British Museum. The Athenaeum reviewer of the first English translation (1887) later wrote: 'Under the guise of a critical analysis of capital, Karl Marx's work is principally a polemic against capitalists and the capitalist mode of production, and it is this polemical tone which is its chief charm'. The historical-polemical passages, with their formidable documentation from British official sources, have remained memorable; and, as Marx (a chronic furunculosis victim) wrote to Engels while the volume was still in the press, 'I hope the bourgeoisie will remember my carbuncles all the rest of their lives' " (PMM).

"The history of the twentieth century is Marx's legacy. Stalin, Mao, Che, Castrothe icons and monsters of the modern age have all presented themselves as his heirs. Whether he would recognise them as such is quite another matter Nevertheless, within one hundred years of his death half the world's population was ruled by governments that professed Marxism to be their guiding faith. His ideas have transformed the study of economics, history, geography, sociology and literature. Not since Jesus Christ has an obscure pauper inspired such global devotionor been so calamitously misinterpreted." (Francis Wheen, in his introduction to Karl Marx, 1999).