This 1103 pp. book reflects a great deal of learning, and it is often interesting to read.  It is well-written.  So virtually everyone can absorb interesting things from it.  In that sense I am happy to recommend it.

The book has two major problems however.

First, is “capitalism” the right way of centering a book topic across centuries and 1103 pages?  What exactly ties all the different discussions together?  And how many of them succeed in making original contributions to the areas they cover?  There is a kind of “replacement level” left-wing series of cliches running throughout the narrative, but what else is unifying this story?  I would rather read a book on any single one of the covered topics.  And in too many cases the coverage seems only OK.  For instance, the discussions of Pinochet’s Chile, and neoliberalism, in the book’s final chapter are not above the quality of