Communism

Children's Literature

In 1848, Karl Marx published a thin book that began with a prescient statement, "A specter is haunting Europe—the specter of Communism." This opening statement of the Communist Manifesto was Marx's call for social change flowing out of a philosophy based upon historical materialism. Coming of age during the Industrial Revolution, Marx saw a world in which workers were exploited with utter harshness by capitalist owners. The German philosopher postulated a world within which the surplus value produced by proletarians would spark the steadily increasing wealth of a bourgeois ruling class. Marx hoped for the rising of the workers, who would then create a communist world where equality could abound. Sadly, this egalitarian philosophy transmogrified into a political schema controlled by ruthless leaders who crushed all opposition with great human cost. Communism, its philosophical underpinnings, international permutations, and future outlooks are all touched upon in this well-researched and ably written history book. Nigel Ritchie offers up a main course of political history that reaches into the communist movements in China, Cuba, Russia and other locales. Each section of this thoroughly crafted book offers valuable insights into the workings of Communism, a political philosophy that continues to have both telling and terrible effects upon nature. 2001, Raintree Steck-Vaughn, $25.69. Ages 12 up. Reviewer: Greg M. Romaneck

School Library Journal

Gr 7-9-Although the ideological struggles between communism and capitalism consumed most of the 20th century, these books fail to provide an adequate introduction to either system or explain why the conflicts developed. They suffer from their brevity, which results in coverage of entire eras in only a few pages, and a lack of background information, which results in people and events making brief appearances without sufficient introduction or explanation. Both titles use vocabulary that is too advanced for the intended audience. The layout is also poor, with pages so crowded with illustrations, sidebars, and quotes that it is difficult to follow the narratives. Since most of this material can be found in either books about specific eras or in histories of the hostile relationship between communist and capitalist societies, such as James Warren's Cold War: The American Crusade against World Communism, 1945-1991 (Lothrop, 1996), these titles are poor choices for most libraries.-Mary Mueller, Rolla Junior High School, MO Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.