• The Communist Manifesto

  • By: Karl Marx
  • Narrated by: Greg Wagland
  • Length: 1 hr and 34 mins
  • 3.9 out of 5 stars (1,217 ratings)

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The Communist Manifesto  By  cover art

The Communist Manifesto

By: Karl Marx
Narrated by: Greg Wagland
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Publisher's summary

‘It was a sweet finish after the bitter pills of floggings and bullets with which these same governments, just at that time, dosed the German working-class risings’.

The Communist Manifesto is, perhaps surprisingly, a most engaging and accessible work, containing even the odd shaft of humour in this translation by Samuel Moore for the 1888 English edition. It is, of course, an essential introduction to the thoughts and theories of Karl Marx and his collaborator and editor Friedrich Engels and therefore to the development of communism.

This brief but iconoclastic work, essentially a pamphlet, covers the history of the bourgeoisie, aspects of ‘class struggle’ with descriptions and analyses of numerous workers’ parties and movements up to the 1840s. It predicts and elaborates upon the defeat of capitalism and communism’s ultimate global victory. Written over 150 years ago it pulsates with energy, insight and contemporary relevance, ending with the rallying cry, ‘Workers of the World Unite.’ Greg Wagland, a history graduate and enthusiast, brings a certain freshness and energy to his reading of this far from dusty tome. A word about the narrator: born in Oxford, England, Greg Wagland is a classically trained actor, who attended St. Andrews University and drama school. He has worked in television, radio and theatre appearing in productions with the likes of Richard E. Grant, Penelope Keith, Bill Pertwee, Matt Smith, Roger Allam, Liza Goddard, Michael Denison, Dulcie Gray and Lindsay Duncan. He has recorded over 50 audiobooks, a number of those for the well-respected Talking Book Service of the RNIB. Now for Magpie Audio he is putting together an eclectic collection of classic fiction and non-fiction works and is always happy to receive suggestions for new titles.

Public Domain (P)2011 Magpie Audio

Critic reviews

"Our narrator has little to add, except his own words and in this capacity Greg Wagland has his work cut out. The trick with a reading of this kind is to make a clear distinction between which character has what voice, otherwise things could get complicated." ( The Guardian)
"Greg Wagland’s crescendo-free rendition allows this brilliantly structured novel to speak for itself." ( The Spectator)

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Forcibly over throw anyone who owns land?

I'm not really sure how to review this. The message is terrible, claiming that no one should own land except the government and the only way to achieve this goal is to forcibly over throw everyone in the middle class or upper class who owns land and money. But the company did a good job narrating the book so I don't want to give them a bad review for their part.

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17 people found this helpful

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Count the bourgeois

I listened to this today while working. Hourly. In retail. With vegetables. In San Francisco. Classic.

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15 people found this helpful

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My advice, set speed to 1.5

Narration was awfully slow. Increased speed and it was bearable. I also finished it in 45 minutes

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14 people found this helpful

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1000/10

Glory to Mother Russia and all of the Communist countries out there. This book was great comrades.

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soft headed drivel

the only redeeming factor here is the narrator does a good job. there is no towering intellectual thought here. in short, marx states that capitalism does the most good for the most people. somehow, that is why capitalism is evil. he proposes that if you just give up all notions of self interest and submit your will to the designs of some nebulous central planner, you would be happier. it boggles my mind that so many people have gotten anything of substance out of this book. by all means, listen to it; but first be sure to get an accurate understanding of what life was really like before the industrial revolution and the invention of the middle class.

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Communism is outdated and should be thrown away.

While listening to this, it seemed extremely ironic to be listening about essentially how capitalism isn’t the answer, and the rise of the middle class only enslaves the proletariat. The beginning of capitalism may have been a rough start, and to some appeared bleak as people had the work in their hands and the idea was not to fall on the support of the government. It’s ironic because capitalism in a small way is the reason Greg Wagland can narrate, and supplied me with the smart phone to listen with. The communist manifesto offers a much more bleak world where nobody is allowed to privately own the entities of their choosing or seek a life that suites them. Individuality can only exist in a free society that capitalism has grown to offer.

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9 people found this helpful

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Educational

Here is my summary of the message - capitalism is flawed, serfdom is flawed - everything is flawed so submit to communism. Is communism flawed? It’s not really addressed. But, everything else is so submit to communism. AND, communism’s main philosphy is that there is no private property and the only way to implement is through violent revolution.

My perspective, everywhere I see communism installed - lots of people die and then lots of people starve. I would call that deeply flawed.

So, everything sucks but capitalism seems to suck a bit less. That’s life.

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informative book

cool book, a lot of good info in a short read, a lot of things spoken about apply today!

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A Necessary Read

The Communist Manifesto is not a tremendous read, but I will admit that when faced with the actual text it can be somewhat boring to get through. The very scientific tonality, when not delivered by a skilled orator, can sometimes be alienating. This is not a problem in an audiobook format. I believe that the Manifesto is an absolutely necessary read for anyone interested in the tenets of socialism and Marxism, and if the choice is between reading it in an audio format or not reading it at all, then you should get it whatever way you can.

Very straightforward, and the narrator - while not the most passionate - does his job well. Any topics that may confuse are easy to make a note of and research later. A short read overall, but if you're like me and find the act of reading to be ever-more difficult in the crushing, busy, and attention-sapping world capitalism has built for us, then this is a great way to make sure you know the Manifesto.

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8 people found this helpful

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better to be dead then red

The narrator was good, just a bad Philosophy and political motivation. so glad Americans have the freedom to read other opinions on how to govern.

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8 people found this helpful