Three reviews of Thomas Picketty's book

There's been a lot of discussion in the media about Thomas Picketty's book Capital in the 21st Century. What I found interesting about this attention is how it provoked comparisons to Marx - the title itself suggests Picketty is trying to provide us with a "modern" updated theory of how capitalism works. 

Marxism on the internet

I first encountered Marxism years ago when I was a teenager. I had never been all that interested in politics until that moment, but learning about a theory which brought together history, philosophy, economics and sociology into a cohesive system inspired me a great deal. The school system tends to isolate subjects into separate categories, and I found the holistic vision of Marxism to be an appealing alternative to what I had been taught. So I read lots and lots of books: Marx, Engles, Lenin, Trotsky, Luxemburg and so on. There was a lot in these books I did not fully understand, but the things which I did understand have influenced me a great deal.