Mary Gabriel's Love and Capital is an account of the lives of Karl and Jenny Marx and their family before, during, and after Karl Marx's revolutionary idea - Capitalism/Socialism.Review:
Being a history-buff at times, I knew I had to read Love and Capital. I have read textbooks on Marx' political role, but never had I read an account that talked about the man himself; his unyielding love of his wife and children, the trials that almost destroyed everything he'd ever built, and, overall, his humanity. Mary Gabriel does an outstanding job demonstrating the lives, loves, and times of the Marx family, including several pages of black and white photos, drawings, and maps. I found her biographical wring style very entertaining, there were only a few spots where I had to muddle my way through the text. Due to the book's size, there is the tendency for drifting into monotony, but I thought that it was well-organized and seldom became boring. One detail that irked me though, was that Jenny Marx wasn't really a "head-lining character". The title is a tad-bit misleading, I expected to read more about their relationship and less about debt, his affair, and his life's work. Still, it was refreshing to see Jenny Marx described as the support behind her husband, and ultimately, the mother of the Socialist revolution. Overall, I felt that this biography was written beautifully with attention paid to every detail, and I would recommend it to those who love history, or even as a reference for those studying Marx himself.
Rating: On the Run (4/5)
*** I received this book from Little, Brown and Company, (Hachette Book Group), in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.
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