8In the lucid style and engaging manner that have become his trademark, Robert L. Heilbroner explains and explores the central elements of Marxist thought: the meaning of a dialectical philosophy, the usefulness and problems of a materialist interpretation of history, the power of Marx's socioanalytic penetration of capitalism, and the hopes and disconcerting problems involved in a commitment to socialism. Scholarly without being academic, searching without assuming a prior knowledge of the subject, Dr. Heilbroner enables us to appreciate the greatness of Mark while avoiding an uncritical stance toward his work.