Capital: Critique of Political Economy v. 1 (Classics S.) Paperback – Illustrated, 6 Dec. 1990

What can you say about such a book? I spent at least six months reading it, it's not an easy one, but that said, it isn't as cryptic as many people seem to think. If you have, like myself, been working for wages your whole life, then you'll find countless things here you already know to be true in life (in the capitalist society), although you probably haven't been able to put your finger on them by yourself. Marx was writing to workers, he wanted Capital to be used as a manual in the struggle to free the proletariat. It's something completely different than what I expected the book be, and in a very positive sense so. As a companion to reading this, I heartily recommend David Harvey's "Reading Marx's Capital", it's provides insight to the more difficult passages, as well as providing historical and political background.And the translation is really, really good and readable. I'm a native Finn, and I tried reading the Capital in Finnish at first, but the Finnish translation was so bad and felt so cryptic, that I changed to this Penguin Classics edition, and it's true: it read a lot better than the one in my native language! I also have researched into the translation's critical quality, and have learned from many very respected sources that it's supposed to be very good, too.

I read this previously in the Moscow version, which was the translation by Moore and Aveling. This translation is much clearer, and makes the book more understandable. It brings out the Hegelian language better, enabling the reader to make up his or her own mind about whether we are dealing with "coquetting" with Hegelian terms or with something more substantial.The chapter on the working day, with examples of incredibly long days worked by both adults and children, is really striking. While in Britain, at least, we do not have children working extremely long hours, we are increasingly getting people constrained to work long hours by the gig economy, or while working as care workers in the community.Obviously there are very numerous and complex debates about how to interpret Marx's analyses and the extent to which they are valid, but this translation gives the reader an accurate starting point.

If you want to read the Capital this is the edition you should buy. The translation is more modern than the one in previous editions, which made the book almost illegible (and it's already a hard book!)

I've not got much more to add to the other reviews that praise 'Capital', other than to say that, although it is difficult to read and it does involve hard work, it is not beyond the averagely intelligent person to get to grips with.Given that we are now well into another massive global crisis of capitalism, the book that explains the system the best deserves to be read again and again.The Penguin edition is the best one to get because it's the edition which ties in with the best guide/companion to 'Capital' which is David Harvey's 'Companion to Marx's 'Capital''. The introductory essay by Ernest Mandel is also useful for discussion on some of the subsequent objections and criticisms of 'Capital' and whether such critiques are valid.Only criticism? Cheap paper which yellows rather too soon.

This (in)famous book needs no introduction, it is a masterpiece of historic research and economic thinking. As an economist, I appreciate Marx' attention for the basics, which are too often taken for granted. He's a smart and witty writer, but he also has done an enormous effort to gather so many detailed discussions of labour conditions and a thorough reading of economic theory at the time. When you go through the text, make sure not to skip the savvy footnotes: this is referencing as it should be.

This is a surprisingly enjoyable book to read. Not only does it give a disturbingly vivid (albeit skewed) account of capitalist history and working conditions, but much of the discussion revolves around industry in the UK (which then included Ireland), making it very close to home for British readers. Next time you whine about your long hours in the office, think of your poor ancestors toiling sixteen hours a day for poverty wages!As others have mentioned, Harvey's book A Companion to Marx's Capital is very good for shedding light on the intricate layers of argument in Capital. I would also highly recommend reading Capital alongside Emile Zola's Germinal (Penguin Classics), which is almost the fictional counterpart to Capital.Like me, you may not sign up to Marx's vision of the future - Communism, government control, planned economy, abolition of property etc. - but you may be surprised (like me) at how much sense his 150-year-old critique of our current system makes.

This is an interesting work that can help to understand the present situation around the world.

Marx was a giant of political economy, grappling with the massive spectre of maturing capitalism. This work is the culmination of intense research and is a revelation for anyone struggling to make sense of the capitalist system. Marx was also a revolutionary activist, and this work serves as a learned critique of a system sowing the seeds of its own destruction and that of humanity itself.