In this study of Antonio Gramsci's Prison Notebooks, Joseph V. Femia elucidates the concept of hegemony and shows its implications for Gramsci's explanation of social stability and his vision of the revolutionary process. Considering neglected but important aspects of Gramsci's thought and correcting a number of mistaken interpretations, Femia demonstrates that Gramsci's work contains the prospect of a more humane and democratic alternative to Leninist Communism.