S. H. Rigby is Professor of History at Manchester University

"A serious and interesting contribution to recent scholarship" American Historical Review "... very thoughtful and thought-provoking" V.G. Kiernan, History "... a devastating critique of those Marxists who, through a process of selective quotation purify Marx of those elements they find unacceptable... a provocative monograph designed to challenge conventional wisdom." Journal of Communist Studies "... its treatment of Engels's dialectical materialism is consistently impressive, with an analysis that is always clear and aposite... Rigby maintains the high standard of scholarship set by his previous Marxism and History" D. McLellan, English Historical Review"

• Preface; Abbreviations; Introduction; part I: The flight from Hegel: Engels and the genesis of Marxism; 1. Hegelian Liberalism; 2. Hegelian Socialism; 3. Engels' epistemological break; 4. Historical Materialism; 5. Communism: practical materialism; Part II: The return to Hegel: Engels and dialectical materialism; 6. Dialectical materialism; 7. Dialectical materialism: an assessment; 8. Was Marx and 'Engelsist'?; 9. Historical materialsim: an assesment; 10. Scientific and critical Marxism: an assesment; Conclusion; Bibliography; Indeces.