Karl Marx's materialistic conception of history claimed to account for the past, confidently predicted the future, and made history itself. In analyzing the Marxian theory of social evolution, M. M. Bober closely examines the writings of Marx and his friend, Friedrich Engels, tracing the formulation of the doctrine in Capital, The Poverty of Philosophy, Civil War in France, Revolution and Counter-Revolution, The Communist Manifesto, and other of their voluminous publications. By careful, objective investigation, the author is able to present an accurate interpretation of Marx's economic and historical concepts, and he evaluates the theory in the light of actual historical development.

In the extensive revision of his authoritative study, Bober has taken full account of developments since its first publication. Unknown writings by Marx and Engels recently have been discovered; new voices have been raised in defense of and against Marxian concepts; and economic theory has changed, with the problems of the business cycle and economic calculation assuming greater prominence. Bober's critical analysis of Marx and of his influence make a valuable and timely book, of interest not merely to scholars but also to everyone who is stirred to serious reading by the present conflict of political ideologies.

Kikkoman is the oldest and one of the most profitable among Japan's industrial giants, and its three hundred-year history is a lesson in successful adaptation to the complex, competitive international business arena. Mark Fruin places Kikkoman—producers of the best known and most widely used soy sauce products in the world—in the social and economic context of modern Japan.

The Kikkoman Corporation, the Mogi–Takanishi families that control it, and the city of Noda are three inseparable entities—company, clan, and community. Using a variety of sources along with the voluminous Kikkoman archives, Fruin reveals the institutional, social, and ideological bonds that affected the growth of all three. Kikkoman's metamorphosis from a traditional small family business into a modern corporation introduced new mass-production technologies, new legal and financial forms, new management methods, and the recruitment of a much larger labor force. How Kikkoman grew and prospered not only helps to explain the “miracle” of Japanese recovery after World War II, but also why this small underdeveloped nation became a dynamic industrial power in less than a century.