Is the Grand Old Man re-emerging? More than twenty years after the collapse of Communism, and in the midst of the crisis of Capitalism, Karl Marx''s ideas, at least in part, are back in vogue. He is often invoked, yet often misunderstood. In this award-winning biography Rolf Hosfeld offers a new, transparent, and critical view of Marx''s turbulent life. Linking the contradictory politician and revolutionary to his work-his errors and misjudgments as well as his pioneering ideas-Hosfeld presents a vivid account of Marx''s life between Trier and London. At the same time, he renders accessible Marx''s complex work, one of the world''s most important contributions to the history of ideas.

Is the Grand Old Man re-emerging? More than twenty years after the collapse of Communism, and in the midst of the crisis of Capitalism, Karl Marx’s ideas, at least in part, are back in vogue. He is often invoked, yet often misunderstood. In this award-winning biography Rolf Hosfeld offers a new, transparent, and critical view of Marx’s turbulent life. Linking the contradictory politician and revolutionary to his work—his errors and misjudgments as well as his pioneering ideas—Hosfeld presents a vivid account of Marx’s life between Trier and London. At the same time, he renders accessible Marx’s complex work, one of the world’s most important contributions to the history of ideas.

SECTION I: IDEAS

• World Spirit
• Liberalism
• The Riddle of Modernity
• Predestination
• Phenomenology of Communism
• The Discovery of Simplicity
• New Species

SECTION II: DEEDS

• Futurism
• World War
• The Trauma of Exile
• Lost Illusions

SECTION III: DISCOVERIES

• The Terrible Missile
• Crisis and End Times

SECTION IV: CONSEQUENCES

• To the Sun, to Freedom
• Salvation from the East

Acknowledgements
Bibliography
Notes
Index of Names