In the 1850s and early 1860s, Marx played an active part in politics, and his prolific journalism from London offered a constant commentary on all the main developments of the day. During this time, Marx began to interpret the British political scene and express his considered views on Germany, Poland and Russia, the Crimean War and American Civil War, imperialism in India and China, and a host of other key issues. "The Class Struggles in France" develops the theories outlined in "The Communist Manifesto" into a rich and revealing analysis of contemporary events, while "The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte" contains equally stimulating reflections on Napoleon III's coup d'etat of 1851. In a new introduction, activist and writer Tariq Ali examines the texts that have become essential works in Marx's canon.