Selections from the Prison Notebooks

Rating:
Summary: One of the century's most important political works
Review: Gramsci's Prison Notebooks marks one of the nodal points of Western Marxism's break with Leninism and the breed of marxism born of the Bolshevik Revolution. Exploratory and incomplete, the insights contained in this volume marked a turning point in marxist thinking, indeed leading many right through the marxist fold and out the other side. Gramsci's insights into philosphy, cultural criticism, political economy, and politics make this a crucial resource for anyone interested in any of these themes today ... marxist or otherwise. And for those interested in the 'fall' of marxism, Gramsci is perhaps the most important starting point. A veritable critical goldmine!!!!

Rating:
Summary: Someone Will Take The $15 From You
Review: I bought this book six years ago (having read it previously), and back in the good old days it cost me only $14.95. In an era where many books cost 30% more than they did last year -- and many left-wing books "cost more" than even love or money -- how's that happen? In this case it happens through the book coming from International Publishers, the CPUSA's publishing house. But whether you previously cared how such things happen or not, this is a must-own and actually an easy read for such material (high-grade Marxist social philosophy). Consisting of notes scribbled by Gramsci during his imprisonment until his death, *Selections From The Prison Notebooks* is not a handbook for Armageddon (as one suspiciously poorly-informed reviewer has it); it's a guide to all the things you don't like about modern life (that is, real life). Concerning the realities of life in the corporate world it's surprisingly up-to-date, and not intemperate in its criticism; non-leftists will find things they can take away from the book with a clear conscience, and leftists of any stripe can take anything away from the book with a clear conscience (it is not doctrinaire Stalinism, either). The scope is wide and the vision is good, but it is *specifically* to be remembered that this is *the* most expansive work of Marxist theory ever, and not a guide to practical agitation: those interested in Gramsci's attitudes towards socialist organization can find his writings on worker's councils and early Fascist Italy elsewhere.

Rating:
Summary: Someone Will Take The $15 From You
Review: I bought this book six years ago (having read it previously), and back in the good old days it cost me only $14.95. In an era where many books cost 30% more than they did last year -- and many left-wing books "cost more" than even love or money -- how's that happen? In this case it happens through the book coming from International Publishers, the CPUSA's publishing house. But whether you previously cared how such things happen or not, this is a must-own and actually an easy read for such material (high-grade Marxist social philosophy). Consisting of notes scribbled by Gramsci during his imprisonment until his death, *Selections From The Prison Notebooks* is not a handbook for Armageddon (as one suspiciously poorly-informed reviewer has it); it's a guide to all the things you don't like about modern life (that is, real life). Concerning the realities of life in the corporate world it's surprisingly up-to-date, and not intemperate in its criticism; non-leftists will find things they can take away from the book with a clear conscience, and leftists of any stripe can take anything away from the book with a clear conscience (it is not doctrinaire Stalinism, either). The scope is wide and the vision is good, but it is *specifically* to be remembered that this is *the* most expansive work of Marxist theory ever, and not a guide to practical agitation: those interested in Gramsci's attitudes towards socialist organization can find his writings on worker's councils and early Fascist Italy elsewhere.

Rating:
Summary: A marxist must read!
Review: This selection from Gramsci's "Prison Notebooks" contains his most important work written during his imprisonment from the italian fascist regime. It includes "the Intellectuals", texts on Education, Notes on Italian History, "The modern Prince", "State and Civil Society", "Americanism and Fordism" and notes on the philosophy of praxis, together with a very informative introduction on the italian Communist Movement in the first decades of the 20th century. In this collection Gramsci's theory of "hegemony" in class societies is fully presented, together with his intepretation of Marxism both in philosophy and in the analysis of the modern world.

Gramsci was on of the foremost leaders of the Italian Communist Party; in his trial in 1927 the fascist Public Prosecutor proclaimed that his brain must be stopped from functioning for twenty years. Fortunately, Gramsci proved to be a devoted fighter in prison and his Notebooks furthered -in many points- the analysis of Marx and Lenin of how capitalism functions and how it could be overthrown.

Rating:
Summary: A marxist must read!
Review: This truly is a wonderful work if you want to bring along the "inevitable" revolution just a bit more quickly. This marxist "how to manual" gives you a good idea on how to usher in an age of gulags, political purges, and mass murder not seen since the age of good old Joe Stalin. Go out and get your copy today for a gulag near you tomorrow!

Rating:
Summary: Great way to start the end of the world!!!
Review: This truly is a wonderful work if you want to bring along the "inevitable" revolution just a bit more quickly. This marxist "how to manual" gives you a good idea on how to usher in an age of gulags, political purges, and mass murder not seen since the age of good old Joe Stalin. Go out and get your copy today for a gulag near you tomorrow!