Antonio Gramsci’s Prison Notebooks, written between 1929 and 1935, are the work of one of the most original thinkers in twentieth century Europe. Gramsci has had a profound influence on debates about the relationship between politics and culture. His complex and fruitful approach to questions of ideology, power and change remains crucial for critical theory. This volume was the first selection published from the Notebooks to be made available in Britain, and was originally published in the early 1970s. It contains the most important of Gramsci’s notebooks, including the texts of ‘The Modern Prince’, and ‘Americanism and Fordism’, and extensive notes on the state and civil society, Italian history and the role of intellectuals.

Antonio Gramsci was one of the most important theorists of class, culture, and the state since Karl Marx. His influence has penetrated beyond the left and his stature has so increased that every serious student of Marxism, political theory or modern Italian history must now read him.

Imprisoned by the Fascists for much of his adult life, Gramsci wrote brilliantly on a broad range of subjects: from folklore to philosophy, popular culture to political strategy.