MixedThe Irish Times (IRE)A weighty tome in many respects, not least physically, with the book extending to more than 1,000 pages of history and dense political and economic argument ... The detail was similarly ample in [Capital in the Twenty-first Century], but there was a narrative energy that propelled the reader. I can remember reading that book, on my phone, waiting in a passport queue on a family holiday. That may, alas, say as much about me as the book ... But that singular clarity is absent in this book. Too often this book feels like a work of reference, albeit of extraordinary scholarship ... There are many very good books inside this single volume. From the study of changing voting patterns, to debating the compensation policies due to the abolition of slavery and analysing the impact of higher education on social mobility. All this and more is contained in these pages ... But this weakens the claim to greatness, a mantle that C21 justifiably deserves. It can overwhelm – too much runs the risk of offering too little ... However, that the benchmark is greatness, not mere excellence, shows why Piketty is now so vital.
