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Capital in the Twenty-First Century
- Narrated by: L. J. Ganser
- Length: 24 hrs and 58 mins
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Capital and Ideology
- Written by: Thomas Piketty, Arthur Goldhammer - translator
- Narrated by: Rick Adamson
- Length: 48 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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Thomas Piketty’s best-selling Capital in the Twenty-First Century galvanized global debate about inequality. In this audacious follow-up, Piketty challenges us to revolutionize how we think about politics, ideology, and history. He exposes the ideas that have sustained inequality for the past millennium, reveals why the shallow politics of right and left are failing us today, and outlines the structure of a fairer economic system.
Written by: Thomas Piketty, and others
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The Wealth of Nations
- Written by: Adam Smith
- Narrated by: Gildart Jackson
- Length: 36 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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The foundation for all modern economic thought and political economy, The Wealth of Nations is the magnum opus of Scottish economist Adam Smith, who introduces the world to the very idea of economics and capitalism in the modern sense of the words.
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a must!
- By Bean on 2022-02-17
Written by: Adam Smith
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Debt - Updated and Expanded
- The First 5,000 Years
- Written by: David Graeber
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 17 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Here, anthropologist David Graeber presents a stunning reversal of conventional wisdom: He shows that before there was money, there was debt. For more than 5,000 years, since the beginnings of the first agrarian empires, humans have used elaborate credit systems to buy and sell goods - that is, long before the invention of coins or cash. It is in this era, Graeber argues, that we also first encounter a society divided into debtors and creditors.
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Interesting but heavy
- By Sohaib Shahid on 2021-01-01
Written by: David Graeber
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The Economics of Inequality
- Written by: Thomas Piketty, Arthur Goldhammer - translator
- Narrated by: L. J. Ganser
- Length: 4 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Succinct, accessible, and authoritative, Thomas Piketty’s The Economics of Inequality is the ideal place to start for those who want to understand the fundamental issues at the heart of one the most pressing concerns in contemporary economics and politics. This work now appears in English for the first time.
Written by: Thomas Piketty, and others
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Understanding Power
- The Indispensable Chomsky
- Written by: Noam Chomsky, John Schoeffel - editor, Peter R. Mitchell - editor
- Narrated by: Robin Bloodworth
- Length: 22 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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A major new collection from "arguably the most important intellectual alive" ( The New York Times). Noam Chomsky is universally accepted as one of the preeminent public intellectuals of the modern era. Over the past thirty years, broadly diverse audiences have gathered to attend his sold-out lectures. Now, in Understanding Power, Peter Mitchell and John Schoeffel have assembled the best of Chomsky's recent talks on the past, present, and future of the politics of power.
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Truly essential Chomsky
- By Dustin Lawtey on 2018-09-14
Written by: Noam Chomsky, and others
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The Crusades
- The Authoritative History of the War for the Holy Land
- Written by: Thomas Asbridge
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 25 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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The Crusades is an authoritative, accessible single-volume history of the brutal struggle for the Holy Land in the Middle Ages. Thomas Asbridge - a renowned historian who writes with "maximum vividness" (Joan Acocella, The New Yorker) - covers the years 1095 to 1291 in this big, ambitious, listenable account of one of the most fascinating periods in history.
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Fantastic Book
- By braden on 2018-11-18
Written by: Thomas Asbridge
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Capital and Ideology
- Written by: Thomas Piketty, Arthur Goldhammer - translator
- Narrated by: Rick Adamson
- Length: 48 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Thomas Piketty’s best-selling Capital in the Twenty-First Century galvanized global debate about inequality. In this audacious follow-up, Piketty challenges us to revolutionize how we think about politics, ideology, and history. He exposes the ideas that have sustained inequality for the past millennium, reveals why the shallow politics of right and left are failing us today, and outlines the structure of a fairer economic system.
Written by: Thomas Piketty, and others
-
The Wealth of Nations
- Written by: Adam Smith
- Narrated by: Gildart Jackson
- Length: 36 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
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Performance
-
Story
The foundation for all modern economic thought and political economy, The Wealth of Nations is the magnum opus of Scottish economist Adam Smith, who introduces the world to the very idea of economics and capitalism in the modern sense of the words.
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a must!
- By Bean on 2022-02-17
Written by: Adam Smith
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Debt - Updated and Expanded
- The First 5,000 Years
- Written by: David Graeber
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 17 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Here, anthropologist David Graeber presents a stunning reversal of conventional wisdom: He shows that before there was money, there was debt. For more than 5,000 years, since the beginnings of the first agrarian empires, humans have used elaborate credit systems to buy and sell goods - that is, long before the invention of coins or cash. It is in this era, Graeber argues, that we also first encounter a society divided into debtors and creditors.
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Interesting but heavy
- By Sohaib Shahid on 2021-01-01
Written by: David Graeber
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The Economics of Inequality
- Written by: Thomas Piketty, Arthur Goldhammer - translator
- Narrated by: L. J. Ganser
- Length: 4 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Succinct, accessible, and authoritative, Thomas Piketty’s The Economics of Inequality is the ideal place to start for those who want to understand the fundamental issues at the heart of one the most pressing concerns in contemporary economics and politics. This work now appears in English for the first time.
Written by: Thomas Piketty, and others
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Understanding Power
- The Indispensable Chomsky
- Written by: Noam Chomsky, John Schoeffel - editor, Peter R. Mitchell - editor
- Narrated by: Robin Bloodworth
- Length: 22 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
A major new collection from "arguably the most important intellectual alive" ( The New York Times). Noam Chomsky is universally accepted as one of the preeminent public intellectuals of the modern era. Over the past thirty years, broadly diverse audiences have gathered to attend his sold-out lectures. Now, in Understanding Power, Peter Mitchell and John Schoeffel have assembled the best of Chomsky's recent talks on the past, present, and future of the politics of power.
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Truly essential Chomsky
- By Dustin Lawtey on 2018-09-14
Written by: Noam Chomsky, and others
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The Crusades
- The Authoritative History of the War for the Holy Land
- Written by: Thomas Asbridge
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 25 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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Performance
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The Crusades is an authoritative, accessible single-volume history of the brutal struggle for the Holy Land in the Middle Ages. Thomas Asbridge - a renowned historian who writes with "maximum vividness" (Joan Acocella, The New Yorker) - covers the years 1095 to 1291 in this big, ambitious, listenable account of one of the most fascinating periods in history.
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Fantastic Book
- By braden on 2018-11-18
Written by: Thomas Asbridge
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Foundation
- The History of England from Its Earliest Beginnings to the Tudors: The History of England, Book 1
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- Narrated by: Clive Chafer
- Length: 18 hrs and 21 mins
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In Foundation the chronicler of London and of its river, the Thames, takes us from the primeval forests of England's prehistory to the death of the first Tudor king, Henry VII, in 1509. He guides us from the building of Stonehenge to the founding of the two great glories of medieval England: common law and the cathedrals. He shows us glimpses of the country's most distant past - a Neolithic stirrup found in a grave, a Roman fort, a Saxon tomb, a medieval manor house.
Written by: Peter Ackroyd
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The Price of Peace
- Money, Democracy, and the Life of John Maynard Keynes
- Written by: Zachary D. Carter
- Narrated by: Robert Petkoff
- Length: 22 hrs and 50 mins
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At the dawn of World War I, a young academic named John Maynard Keynes hastily folded his long legs into the sidecar of his brother-in-law’s motorcycle for an odd, frantic journey that would change the course of history. Swept away from his placid home at Cambridge University by the currents of the conflict, Keynes found himself thrust into the halls of European treasuries to arrange emergency loans and packed off to America to negotiate the terms of economic combat.
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Overall fine, some glaring holes
- By Amazon Customer on 2022-01-22
Written by: Zachary D. Carter
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Capital: Volume 1
- A Critique of Political Economy
- Written by: Karl Marx, Samuel Moore - translation, Edward Aveling - translation
- Narrated by: Derek Le Page
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It can be said of very few books that the world was changed as a result of its publication - but this is certainly the case of Capital: A Critique of Political Economy by Karl Marx (1818-1883). Volume 1 appeared (in German) in 1867, and the two subsequent volumes appeared at later dates after the author's death - completed from extensive notes left by Marx himself.
Written by: Karl Marx, and others
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The Rise and Fall of American Growth
- The U.S. Standard of Living Since the Civil War
- Written by: Robert J. Gordon
- Narrated by: Michael Butler Murray
- Length: 30 hrs and 14 mins
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In the century after the Civil War, an economic revolution improved the American standard of living in ways previously unimaginable. Electric lighting, indoor plumbing, home appliances, motor vehicles, air travel, air conditioning, and television transformed households and workplaces. With medical advances, life expectancy between 1870 and 1970 grew from 45 to 72 years. The Rise and Fall of American Growth provides an in-depth account of this momentous era.
Written by: Robert J. Gordon
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Peak
- Secrets from the New Science of Expertise
- Written by: Anders Ericsson, Robert Pool
- Narrated by: Sean Runnette
- Length: 10 hrs
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Anders Ericsson has made a career studying chess champions, violin virtuosos, star athletes, and memory mavens. Peak distills three decades of myth-shattering research into a powerful learning strategy that is fundamentally different from the way people traditionally think about acquiring new abilities. Whether you want to stand out at work, improve your athletic or musical performance, or help your child achieve academic goals, Ericsson’s revolutionary methods will show you how to improve at almost any skill that matters to you.
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voice
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Perennial Seller
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How can we create and market creative works that achieve longevity? Holiday explores this mystery by drawing on his extensive experience working with businesses and creators such as Google, American Apparel, and the author John Grisham as well as his interviews with the minds behind some of the greatest perennial sellers of our time.
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A big nothing-burger
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Written by: Ryan Holiday
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The House of Morgan
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- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 34 hrs and 37 mins
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A gripping history of banking and the booms and busts that shaped the world on both sides of the Atlantic, The House of Morgan traces the trajectory of the J. P.Morgan empire from its obscure beginnings in Victorian London to the crash of 1987. Ron Chernow paints a fascinating portrait of the private saga of the Morgans and the rarefied world of the American and British elite in which they moved. Based on extensive interviews and access to the family and business archives, The House of Morgan is an investigative masterpiece.
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legendary book does not disappoint
- By Amazon Customer on 2018-03-28
Written by: Ron Chernow
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The Origins of Political Order: From Prehuman Times to the French Revolution
- Written by: Francis Fukuyama
- Narrated by: Jonathan Davis
- Length: 22 hrs and 34 mins
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Virtually all human societies were once organized tribally, yet over time most developed new political institutions which included a central state that could keep the peace and uniform laws that applied to all citizens. Some went on to create governments that were accountable to their constituents. We take these institutions for granted, but they are absent or are unable to perform in many of today’s developing countries—with often disastrous consequences for the rest of the world.
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Cannot possibly retain the info... waste of $$
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Written by: Francis Fukuyama
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SPQR
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In SPQR, world-renowned classicist Mary Beard narrates the unprecedented rise of a civilization that even 2,000 years later still shapes many of our most fundamental assumptions about power, citizenship, responsibility, political violence, empire, luxury, and beauty.
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watch her on tv
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Written by: Mary Beard
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Company of One
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Paul Jarvis left the corporate world when he realized that working in a high-pressure, high profile world was not his idea of success. In Company of One, Jarvis explains how you can find the right pathway to do the same, including planning how to set up your shop, determining your desired revenues, dealing with unexpected crises, keeping your key clients happy, and of course, doing all of this on your own. Company of One is a refreshingly new approach centered on staying small and avoiding growth, for any size business.
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Start small, then choose your path
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Modern Times
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Beginning with May 29, 1919, when photographs of the solar eclipse confirmed the truth of Einstein's theory of relativity, Johnson goes on to describe Freudianism, the establishment of the first Marxist state, the chaos of "Old Europe", the Arcadian 20s, and the new forces in China and Japan. Also discussed are Karl Marx, Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, Roosevelt, Gandhi, Castro, Kennedy, Nixon, the '29 crash, the Great Depression, Roosevelt's New Deal, and the massive conflict of World War II.
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Magnificent book, weak reader
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Knowledge and Decisions
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- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 20 hrs and 53 mins
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This reissue of Thomas Sowell’s classic study of decision making, which includes a preface by the author, updates his seminal work in the context of The Vision of the Anointed. Sowell, one of America’s most celebrated public intellectuals, describes in concrete detail how knowledge is shared and disseminated throughout modern society. He warns that society suffers from an ever-widening gap between firsthand knowledge and decision making—a gap that threatens not only our economic and political efficiency but our very freedom.
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Brilliant. Required material for modern humans
- By Matt on 2018-04-26
Written by: Thomas Sowell
Publisher's Summary
What are the grand dynamics that drive the accumulation and distribution of capital? Questions about the long-term evolution of inequality, the concentration of wealth, and the prospects for economic growth lie at the heart of political economy. But satisfactory answers have been hard to find for lack of adequate data and clear guiding theories. In Capital in the Twenty-First Century, Thomas Piketty analyzes a unique collection of data from 20 countries, ranging as far back as the 18th century, to uncover key economic and social patterns. His findings will transform debate and set the agenda for the next generation of thought about wealth and inequality.
Piketty shows that modern economic growth and the diffusion of knowledge have allowed us to avoid inequalities on the apocalyptic scale predicted by Karl Marx. But we have not modified the deep structures of capital and inequality as much as we thought in the optimistic decades following World War II. The main driver of inequality - the tendency of returns on capital to exceed the rate of economic growth - today threatens to generate extreme inequalities that stir discontent and undermine democratic values. But economic trends are not acts of God. Political action has curbed dangerous inequalities in the past, Piketty says, and may do so again.
A work of extraordinary ambition, originality, and rigor, Capital in the Twenty-First Century reorients our understanding of economic history and confronts us with sobering lessons for today.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.
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- Luisfer
- 2021-01-23
A narrowed minded book on how to deal with inequality
Long narrative to try to fit a story into a clash of classes where the only answer to the inequality problem is tax more and as per the authors words “utopian” and unrealistic solutions.
Read it hoping to learn something, but wasted my time
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3 people found this helpful
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- Stu B.
- 2019-07-31
Life-altering, fantastic
This book will be, to many, a bit much to wade through. I can say myself that I'd been intending to read it for four and a half years and was saved from failing myself only by a few weeks of monotonous labour and this audio format.
But it is absolutely scintillating, if given the opportunity, and is knowledge that should be encouragingly thrust upon even the seemingly uninterested.
It is not lost on me, the cosmic joke of me consuming this information and knowledge as I toiled in the sun this summer, but it is not a book about socialism or revolution or even seizure of wealth.
This book explains, quite succinctly I feel despite it's length, in exhaustively researched detail some of the serious and long standing inequities and corruptions entrenched in society that work against those who help to propagate it. The proletariat, myself obviously included, DESERVE to read or listen to this book. Thomas Piketty, though this is my introduction to his work, is a very skilled author and fair debater with a pragmatic but firm moral center.
I believe I trend to the left of the Author, politically, but I have no criticism of his works or any issue with his ethics. This is a masterpiece, I pray only I can convince many of my friends and family to take the time to read it.
5 stars or whatever, 3 thumbs up, etc.
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- Jtoronto
- 2018-11-16
Wonderful and insightful
Undoubtedly a dense book, the subject and its main focus is complex and has a long history. Piketty does a wonderful job of collecting, analyzing and deriving appropriately justified and far reaching conclusions about money an inequality.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 2019-06-28
very dense
this book was very dense, and I needed to concentrate to understand what he was arguing. it might be better to read this in paper format, but I found that taking notes helped me to concentrate on the argument.
tickety is thorough, detailed and very persuasive. he draws on a variety of sources, including novels from the 18th and 19th centuries. if you want to understand more about the economics of inequality you should read this book. If you have difficulty following complex arguments you should stay away.
the PDFs for this audiobook are included when you download it, and it is extremely difficult to understand what he is arguing without looking at the diagrams. A big part of this book is understanding proportion and scale, and that can't be adequately conveyed audibly. You have to see the diagrams to really get an intuitive understanding.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 2019-05-23
Really good information about inequality
I was not sure if I was going to like the book, I have read some reviews and some did not paint a good picture but I actually enjoyed the book, even if you do not agree with the main claim of the book (r> G) I do believe the good is worth the time to read it or listen to it, the information presented is really good and the explanations are clear, I really think is a good book and deserves the commotion that created when it first appeared, the last three chapters are really good.
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- Anonymous User
- 2019-03-12
Doesn't translate well into an audio format
This is a book that I would recommend in a physical format. It largely focuses on formulas and stats that may be hard to follow without a physical copy.
Not a great audio book to play while driving.
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- Lloyd
- 2022-09-22
Great book, but images are essential here
I don't study economics, but this book helps explain it, for advanced and lay readers. I do have to read it again to fully understand what was written, but that's on me. Great book, and a huge argument for the merits of a wealth tax.
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- Brilliant in Toronto
- 2019-11-05
Made me think!
This book is rather heavy reading material on economic history, fiscal mechanisms and macro theory. But taken slowly and thoroughly, the information is deeply informative and the analysis insightfully stimulating. You do not need formal economic background but a good background in basic economics and fiscal politics doesn’t hurt. The conclusions drawn are clearly controversial but so credibly presented that you wish you spend a day asking questions.
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- Matthew
- 2018-02-21
Instant classic
This has got to be one of the most important works of Political economy, indeed of social science generally, ever written. Required reading for anyone concerned with the future of capitalism, democracy, and world history.
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- Amazon Customer
- 2023-01-02
Eye opening, but dry
This book is absolutely packed with information that will open your eyes to how the economy ebbs and flows. However it can be difficult to get tbrough as there are sections that are just statistics being read to the listener.
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- Madeleine
- 2014-05-22
The Financial Times' Critique Doesn't Detract
It is a deep shame that the Financial Times' critique of Piketty's data is going to put some people off from buying and listening to this book, because a few quibbles about a very small amount of the data (on the UK only) doesn't detract from the validity of this detailed piece of analysis. It won't matter that many other well-respected economists defend Piketty's use of the data, or the robustness of his argument. For the readers of the FT, for those who represent the top 10% of weathholders, or those who aspire to be one of them, this book is a fundamental threat to their plans.
It's a long book, and it takes some concentration to listen to. Looking at the linked PDFs help to bring the stats and numbers to life. But I found it incredibly worthwhile. The central argument - that R>G (capital always trumps growth) is successfully and persuasively argued six ways from Sunday. And that is something not even Piketty's most vehement detractors can argue against.
Nor did I find Piketty's conclusions and suggestions even close to being the 'radical marxist' ones that he's been accused of holding by the press. He's conscious of the fundamental value of entrepreneurship, of a vibrant market.
When all is said and done, this book will polarize its readers along ideological lines. Because ultimately he's asking the question: what do we want our society to look like? He argues very persuasively that many of the ways we have sought to establish fairness and meritocracy in society have been ineffective in the long run.
This book threatens those who continue to perpetuate the myth that there are even playing fields: that financial success is based on merit, that opportunity is available to everyone, that trickle-down economics works, that education is the great leveler. There are good reasons why certain groups find this book threatening. It erodes the very thin veneer that the free market is truly free.
But it is also a very optimistic book. Piketty offers some very 'unradical' solutions for how to mitigate the problem of rapidly accelerating wealth concentration. It's not a 'downer' at all.
The narration is good for such a long and complex book. Well chosen to be easy on the ears but still engage the concentration. I found it well worth the credit and the time I spent on it.
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- Kazuhiko
- 2014-06-14
Audio format still useful to get the gist of it
I agree with the other reviewer who warned that the PDF has 106 pages of figures and tables and that the audio format may not be the best way to "read" this book.
However, in my case, there is no way for me, who is not an economist or a student, to get through 685 pages (577 pages of main text and figures plus notes, index, etc.) in the hardcover copy just by, uh, reading. While the audiobook's 25 hours is longer than the length of an average audiobook, I got through it in less than 10 days just by listening during my daily commute and chores, and I feel I got the gist of the content. It was interesting enough and, I felt I missed some important aspects of the argument depicted in the figures, so I went out and got a hardcopy and a notebook so that I can even take notes. Yes, this audiobook got me interested in this book.
An unexpected bonus of this book for me was the author's references to the characters and the financial/societal backdrops of stories by Jane Austen and Honoré de Balzac. I did not realize how much I missed and did not comprehend the important nuances of the stories from the 19th centuries world (or 18th or 20th for that matter). We don't usually pay attention to how culture is influenced by the distribution of capital in the society and how that affects day-to-day mood of people in it.
I noticed that this book has been greatly politicized. But to me, the book simply provides DATA-DRIVEN analyses and recommendations for a fair society.
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- Darwin8u
- 2014-05-25
Hottest Economic Beach Read of the Season
This is one of those scholarly books that seem to end up being accidental cultural markers of time and place. I'm pretty sure Piketty wanted his book to be read/discussed/debated, and Belnap/Harvard Press certainly wanted it to be bought. But, I'm pretty sure neither the author or the publisher was expecting it to do sell like it did (whether it gets read is another matter). My guess is this book will stimulate a lot of debate about the real nature and scope of income and capital inequality AND debate about the proper roll of government in addressing these issues.
What I loved about this book was Piketty's voice. His narrative style. The fact he rejected the theoretical speculation favored by a lot of modern economists and instead went with a historical and data-centric narrative, gave this book juice. He wrote an economics book that demands to be read. I loved how he used literature (Balzac and Austen) as reference points for his thesis about the challenges with income and capital disparities between the 1% and the lower 50%. I loved his boldness. I mean really, it takes some scholarly, economic balls to name your book 'Capital'. It is like walking into a Liverpool pub with a Manchester Untied shirt on. Piketty was provocative right from the start.
Why didn't I rate this higher? I thought his proscriptive approach (Part IV) was a bit naive. I get what he is trying to do. He is setting the flag at the ideal point and letting the politics take care of itself, but his ideal isn't really even on this planet (not even on Planet France). I'm not sure the governing class in any of the major nations he dealt with will ever be ready for a large-scale capital tax, or a global system of taxing and studying incomes. There just isn't any stomach for that. Perhaps I'm a pessimist, but I think we are already governed by system of economic élite domination. It is more likely that a natural disaster, world war, or years of inflation are way more likely to change the current and growing capital inequality in the US and Europe than any preventative, rational, or progressive tax on wealth.
We can barely politically stomach a slight increase to capital gains/dividend tax rates without shutting down government and calls to impeach our president. A one-time, double-digit tax on wealth just won't happen in my lifetime. When 97% of scientists warn us about global warming, but because of vested energy interests and media complicity we find half of our nation believing it is all hype as the poles melt, what hope do we have in preventing millionaires and billionaires from accumulating more wealth? Most will remain ignorant of the problem, apathetic about how that type of income disparity harms democracy, and mostly antagonistic about changing what is perceived to be a meritocracy for a redistributive tax solution. Just not going to happen. I can't see it happening in France, let alone Britain, China or the US.
But that is just me venting my frustrations. The future IS the sole property of the future. I might be wrong. For the most part the book is already doing what he wanted. He's got FT writing and challenging his data. He has Paul Krugman giving supporting data. I'm reading his book instead of a Dan Brown novel. So, my bitching aside, his book has already done 10x what it had every practical right to do. It might just end up being the next John Rawls tome, read by economists, politicians and those tired of Dan Brown novels. I sure hope so.
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- Ben
- 2019-11-02
Data-Driven Books which Lie about Data are Useless
Piketty's book strives to support the claim that r > g, and so inequality will invariably rise in capitalist societies with laissez-faire economic policies. This is an interesting claim which deserves thorough study. Unfortunately, Piketty's methods undermine his own case.
For example, one of Piketty's central claims is a plot of wealth inequality in the US over the past century (Fig 10.5). To do this, Piketty aggregates data from different studies. This is reasonable. But he uses only a single time point from each study! Each study applied their own data-collection methodology to generate their own curves, and Piketty's aggregation looks nothing like any of them. It is clear that he cherry-picked the samples to support the conclusion he desired.
Another egregious example of pseudo-intellectualism is his dismissal of technological advancements. Piketty claims that because globalization has spread the benefits of technology equally to all countries, we can ignore the effects of technological advancements when comparing countries. This is an extremely strong assertion that Piketty takes no effort to justify. Do we really believe that every country's economy benefits equally from Silicon Valley? Once considered, it becomes apparent that many of Piketty's claims can be countered by simply asking about technological advancement -- the fact that Piketty dismisses this out-of-hand exemplifies his cavalier attitude.
Even more embarrasing is Piketty's response to criticism. When economists have called out his shoddy methodology, Piketty's main response has been that people are able to see rising inequality with their own eyes and thus should not worry about his methodology. The strength of his thesis rests of the quality of the data -- if this cannot be defended, then what is the point of this book?
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- Ryan
- 2014-06-18
Wall, meet writing
Spoiler alert: the takeaway from Thomas Piketty's dry but much-discussed book is what most citizens of the developed world already know: income and wealth inequality in first world countries, particularly the United States, are at levels not seen since the Gilded Age. As much as I've personally benefitted from globalism and technology, it’s obvious that the lion’s share of the profits from these trends has gone to a small elite, while many Americans are being left behind in an economy that no longer places great value on their skills (or gives a damn about educating their kids).
No doubt, the timing of the book’s publication has something to do with the big splash it made -- these are clearly issues on a lot of minds -- but Piketty brings some cool analysis to the current reality, helping the reader understand how to see it in terms of historical data. As he argues, all economic evidence suggests that this disparity is likely to continue to grow, driving modern countries towards a form of society not seen since 19th century Europe. There, he shows, there was less economic growth than in the 20th century, which meant that a small upper class that controlled most of the capital received most of the income, consolidating its dominance through inheritance. Piketty brilliantly illustrates this point with references to classic 19th century novels, wherein protagonists aren’t trying to better themselves in careers in which advancement is limited, but are focused on marrying well. Only the shock of two world wars ended this reality, creating a few decades of growth-through-rebuilding and relatively egalitarian prosperity for Western Europe and the US.
Piketty dives down into the weeds of numerical data, graphs, charts, and comparison tables to make his point, which doesn’t always make for an ideal audiobook listen. Though there’s a PDF supplement, dedicated readers might want to get the book in print. Still, the gist is clear. We can no longer count on the rapid expansion and population growth that drove the wheels of US industry in earlier days. Return on capital is now a better bet than return on growth in most sectors of a 21st century non-emerging economy, with the start-up costs for high-tech industries or rental properties favoring the already wealthy. Even the apparent exceptions, such as software development (my own field), kind of prove the rule, in the sense that they only provide jobs for a small class of highly-skilled workers, sometimes to the detriment of the less-skilled.
However, Piketty’s proposed solutions, as much as I agree with their goals, seem naive given current politics. He advocates more confiscatory taxes on the global top 1%, more transparency in the financial systems of all countries, and stronger international laws related to seizing the assets of tax dodgers. I don’t know about his fellow French citizens, but to even suggest to a certain segment of the US electorate that their country might not actually be a meritocracy, or that it be more subject to some international body of law, would trigger instant howling outrage. Never mind that most of that group will never be wealthy themselves -- they would still rather live in a decaying shack, imagining their interests to be aligned with those of the billionaire Koch Brothers, than ever agree with some “socialist” French academic.
Piketty emphasizes his faith in democracy, but there are a few things I wish he’d discussed more, even if they fall outside the purview of economics. The long-term implications of technological advances on the job market. The tendency of big government and big business to end up in bed with each other. How the people can take back ownership of the political system and the machinery of production without going down the failed route of Communism.
Still, I’m glad this book is being talked about. If the Boomer Generation is still earnestly clinging to the “American Dream” ideals it once knew, it’s pretty clear to younger generations that the system isn’t so meritocratic or upwardly mobile as it once was. I think that Piketty, a Gen-Xer himself, is speaking more to this demographic than the one currently in charge. After all, to quote a certain Gen-X musical, the aging Koch brothers are “just for now”.
That said, your kids might give some thought to marrying one of their heirs.
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- Sierra Bravo
- 2014-09-14
One side of the story.
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
Yes, an old friend of mine would say that there are three sides to everything, your side, my side and the truth. This book is one side of the story and the data and assumptions made are intended to bolster that side.
What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)
The ending is a summary of the book hardly a surprise.
What does L. J. Ganser bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
It is clear and concise reading that can be followed, not an easy task with such a book. Audio frees time over reading (usually on long car trips)
Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
Piketty cherry picks his data to prove a point but criticizes those with different views for doing the same thing. For example when comparing inequality in 1900-1910 to inequality in 200-2010 Piketty chooses to ignore transfer payments and income taxes. Since neither existed in the earlier period but both are very substantial, and substantial forces for reducing inequality today. Ignoring these makes the resulting comparisons are very skewed from reality. He is clearly smart enough to know this and deliberate misrepresentations like this cloud an important discussion. It frustrates me when this is done deliberately to make the data prove a point. Both sides do it.
Any additional comments?
If you believe that income inequality is not a problem then you should read (listen to) this book. If you believe that all wealth is inherited and they system is rigged so that the little guy never get ahead you should perhaps read "The Millionaire Next Door" which is also research based and paints a very different picture of the wealthy. Always challenge your beliefs by reading the other side it gets you close to the truth in the middle.
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- L. Kerr
- 2014-06-20
Worth the time and money
I gave this audiobook 5 stars even though it's not perfect. Here's why.
Obviously audiobook is not the perfect format for a wonky macroeconomic tome with lots of graphs and numbers. Even though it comes with pdf files for the charts, that's not much help when you're listening in the car. But the glass of water half full is that I wouldn't have had the time to read this book, so listening is better than nothing. And this book has great merit.
We've all read the criticism of the author's predictions and extrapolations. That was predictable because of the reflexive reaction by conservatives, and also the carping economists who would never dream of having a best seller on their hands, thus turning into to haters.
Even if you ignore the author's prediction that US wealth is and will continue to become more concentrated in the clutches of the one-percenters, this book is valuable for its fascinating explanation of the history of wealth stratification. That alone taught me a great deal and helps explain where any why the world economy is. In brief, wealth has always tended to rise to the top. It was only because of the "economic shocks" of the two World Wars that the American and European middle classes got a temporary bigger piece of the pie. Add to this the fact that emerging economies are merely catching up to us explains why Americans have anxiety about not being so far ahead of the rest of the world.
This book is a great history lesson. Don't prejudge it just because, in the end, the author makes some value judgments. Learning is great fun. At least I think so.
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- serine
- 2016-01-23
worth the time
I liked this book a great deal. Initially, I wasn't quite sure if I would be interested in reading the entire book -- it's quite long and it includes a lot of information about finance, which is not usually something that draws me in -- but I enjoyed every page. Even when the author gave the reader permission to skip ('If you are familiar with x concept, feel free to move to the next section"), I remained engaged with the material. Piketty is great writer -- marrying finance, Jane Austin novels, culture, and various other tidbits, which culminated in an extremely thorough, yet readable, work.
There are always so many questions I ask myself about the state of money, debt, and equality on a global level but never quite have the answers to. Piketty addresses an astounding number of concerns about our global economy. I would like to have seen him delve into a few discussions in more detail. He was heavy on the facts about finance and less so about the origins of inequality. However the book was so long; perhaps what I am asking for would be another book in and of itself. My one regret was not taking notes.
Excellent work. I recommend to anyone interested in how money is acquired, accumulated, grown, disbursed, kept in the hands of one group/individual or another. Piketty discusses who has the money, what impact their wealth has on the world at large, what should or should not be done so that the money can help the masses but also remain concentrated enough to fund space, education, etc.
As an aside, it was interesting for me to read about the same pattern, in which over and over rich individuals who amass great fortunes and get to decide what advancement will take place on a national and even global level. For example, Andrew Carnegie is portrayed as a careless tyrant who grew his fortune, only to give it to the masses in controlled, thought out ways that changed the face of education, the space program, and so on. Bill Gates is doing the same thing now. Mark Zukerberg just made the news for allocating his 45 billion dollar fortune to various causes.
Absolutely worth your time, money, and effort to read this book.
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- Scot
- 2014-11-27
WRITTEN FOR A HIGH SCHOOLER - JUST AWFUL
I am now 8 hours into this book and am committed to finishing it, but with that said, I am totally shocked that this book has become so widely talked about. It is so incredibly remedial in its discussion and in the points (what few it makes) that is should be relegated to the reading list for those studying a trade-related curriculum at a community college. You have absolutely got to be kidding me if anyone with even the most minor of academic or general knowledge background in economics would find this book enlightening.
To start with, after 2 1/2 hours, Piketty was still in an introduction. I thought that was a bit lengthy and I kept waiting for some (ANY) substance and so far it has not appeared. I have been thankful that he has at least stopped using the word 'apocalyptic' (I stopped counting how many times he used that word in the first 2 hours of listening).
Any idiot can make the argument for the 'social justice' in the redistribution of capital but that seems to miss the fundamental point that approximately 85% of the value of capital is returned to the consumer in the form of lower costs or improved services. The 15% that indeed does go to the owners of capital is what is necessary for them to risk the capital so that society can reap the other 85% of the value. If we redistributed capital to equally we would all loss far more that immediate gain of the redistribution (just so that everyone is aware they have tried in Russia and I think we can agree it was a bit of a failure).
As an example, Walmart has a market of approximately $275 billion. Its sales are approximately $500 billion. If one assumes, conservatively, that Walmart, as a price leader, has by it investments of capital, reduced prices by 20% on the items that it sells, every year society is getting the benefit of $100 billion of reduced costs (and this is not even considering the fact that through competition it has helped to 'force' other stores to become more efficient). At Piketty's 5% return of capital (an let's add 1.5% for inflation) those greedy owners of Walmart are getting $18.875B of return ($275B X .6.5%). Every year society, not Walmart or its shareholders are getting the vast vast vast majority of the benefit. This example can be repeated over and over again. Ford and General Motors have been responsible for massive improvements to the automobile over the past 40 years and even in a good year the returns left to their shareholders is a tiny factor of the overall value of the automobile to society.
As I said, I will trudge through the rest of this book (praying that boredom does not overcome me as I am listening), but I certainly not recommend wasting time on this (a better use of time would be to watch reruns of Gilligan's Island).
I would suggest anyone with any interest in economics reads Edward Comard's OUTSTANDING book 'Unintended Consequences'.
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- Anne in State College
- 2014-06-09
Audiobook not the best format for this work
Any additional comments?
Be forewarned, to properly digest this important work one must have the 106 pages of graphs and charts. My tablet screen is not good enough for viewing the .pdfs which comes with the audiobook. Therefore I'd have to print them off -- much less convenient than the handy packaging of an actual book! I'm off to buy the hardcopy now!
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- Judy Corstjens
- 2018-06-13
Readable and enjoyable
I was put off this book because it is 700 pages long and I knew that Piketty's final recommendation was a global capital tax which struck me as both unrealistic, and not convenient to me. In fact the book is very well researched and makes many hugely relevant points about what is happening to our economies.
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- Argyrios Pisiotis
- 2022-10-11
A tour de force...
...for those who want to get to the bottom of long-term socio -economic developments, past, current, and even future...
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