The Communist Manifesto
By Martin Rowson
Paperback, 80 pp, $19.99
Published in 1848, at a time of political upheaval in Europe, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels’ Manifesto for the Communist Party was at once a powerful critique of capitalism and a radical call to arms. It remains the most incisive introduction to the ideas of Communism and the most lucid explanation of its aims. Much of what Marx and Engels proposed continues to be at the heart of political debate in the 21st century. It is no surprise, perhaps, that The Communist Manifesto (as it was later renamed) is the second bestselling book of all time, surpassed only by The Bible.
The Guardian’s editorial cartoonist Martin Rowson employs his trademark draughtsmanship and wit in this lively graphic novel adaptation. Published to coincide with the 200th anniversary of Marx’s birth, The Communist Manifesto is both a timely reminder of the politics of hope and a thought-provoking guide to the most influential work of political theory ever published.
The Guardian’s editorial cartoonist Martin Rowson employs his trademark draughtsmanship and wit in this lively graphic novel adaptation. Published to coincide with the 200th anniversary of Marx’s birth, The Communist Manifesto is both a timely reminder of the politics of hope and a thought-provoking guide to the most influential work of political theory ever published.
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Martin Rowson
Martin Rowson is an award-winning cartoonist whose work has appeared regularly in The Guardian, the Daily Mirror, the Independent on Sunday, The Times, The Spectator, the Morning Star, Tribune, New Humanist and many other publications. His first novel, Snatches, was published by Jonathan Cape, as was his memoir Stuff, which was longlisted for the Samuel Johnson Prize. Other books include an anti-Dawkins, anti-Hitchens, anti-God rant, The Dog Allusion, and Fuck: The Human Odyssey, a history of the world in 67 beautiful (if foulmouthed) images. He is also a vice-president of the Zoological Society of London, the chairman of the British Cartoonists’ Association, an honorary associate of The National Secular Society and was once Ken Livingstone’s Cartoonist Laureate for London (in return for one pint of London Pride bitter per annum – now eight years in arrears). He lives in south-east London with his wife and (occasionally) their two children.