Essential books for a beginner?

[James M.]

Hi guys, I hope its ok to make this thread. I read through the rules and I hope Im abiding by all of them.

Im very new to learning about communism and anarchism. Can anyone recommend some essential books for a beginner? My knowledge to this point is minimal. Ill make an intro thread as well.

Thanks.

[Q]

Here is a list with an 'orthodox' Marxist bias (http://www.revleft.com/vb/blog.php?b=7728).

[#FF0000]

The first things you'd probably want to look at by Marx and Engels are:

Principles of Communism
The Communist Manifesto
Wage-Labor and Capital

After that I think it'd be a good idea to check out Marxists.org's "Selected Works" for Marx and Engels where they highlight other important texts by them. That site's also a good resource if you're looking for important texts from other Marxist writers. As a warning though, a lot of this stuff is very dry and can be hard to get through, but it's easier when you understand the historical context a little bit better, so it's a good idea to sometimes check something like wikipedia to get a summary of the context of what Marx and Engels were writing about and why.

[Dialectical Wizard]

You might wanna start with the communist manifesto. https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1848/communist-manifesto/



And this one is also very useful for beginners. https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1847/11/prin-com.htm

[GiantMonkeyMan]

The Principles of Communism is definitely worth a read, maybe more so than the Manifesto. Another thing that I think is a good introduction is James Connolly's Socialism Made Easy (http://www.marxist.net/ireland/connolly/socialism/index.html) which is light-hearted and sarcastic at times but also lays out the fundamental aspects of capitalism and socialism quite succinctly.

[The Garbage Disposal Unit]

The Coming Insurrection (https://tarnac9.wordpress.com/texts/the-coming-insurrection/) - Glen Beck agrees you should read it! (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKyi2qNskJc)

[GiantMonkeyMan]

The Coming Insurrection, whilst I remember enjoying reading it, is not what I would call a book for a 'beginner'.

[#FF0000]

The Coming Insurrection is a fun read at least.

OP, if you want to look into anarchism/syndicalism a little bit, Fighting For Ourselves (http://libcom.org/library/fighting-ourselves-anarcho-syndicalism-class-struggle-solidarity-federation)(link) from the Solidarity Federation is pretty good. And free. Also, Revolutionary Strategy, which can be found in Q's link, is a book I really liked, and one that I think might be useful even to the total beginner, since they talk about the history of the communist movement a good bit.

[James M.]

Thank you all so much for your help! Looks like I have a lot of reading to do. The only thing that I read that has been mentioned is The Communist Manifesto. Im very knew at learning this stuff, but I find myself really identifying with it.

A friend of mine gave me a copy of The Black Flame. Anyone read it? Good? I just got it last night, so I haven had time to start it yet.

Thanks again! Feel free to recommend more.

[Art Vandelay]

A friend of mine gave me a copy of The Black Flame. Anyone read it? Good?

It's okay, a decent overview of anarchism & syndicalism. It's not a bad introduction, but also isn't without its faults. If there are any anarchist or syndicalist currents that interest you, you'd probably best be served by reading the writers associated with it directly.

[Habermas]

How about one book that is a must read for a beginner marxist that has very little time. (I already read the communist manifesto).

[Dialectical Wizard]

How about one book that is a must read for a beginner marxist that has very little time. (I already read the communist manifesto).


Habermas, I personally enjoyed reading this one: How to read Karl Marx by Ernst Fischer and Franz Marek.
It's worth checking out, overall very lucid and easy to read.
It has been translated in various languages which is also very helpful.