Recomend me guides to Marx's Capital

[Itis]

I'm looking for a guide to Marx's capital type of book so that I can start to understand Marxian economics totally. Though I've read the first chapter of Capital vol. 1 earlier this year, I ended up not reading the rest mainly as I didn't have time and to a lesser extent found Marx's writing boring as all hell.

Basically I'm looking for a book that sets out the ideas of Marx's economic thinking in clear and concise way that I can read relatively quickly. So I guess I'm looking for something more in depth than those "introducing" series of books, but more brief than Capital itself.

Any recommendations?

[ZeroNowhere]

I don't really see a guide as being especially useful, but I suppose if you want one, try 'Elements of Marxian Economic Theory and its Criticism' by Billy Blake, which can be found (though probably not read in its entirety) here (http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=8860782). Kliman's stuff is also worth reading, such as 'Reclaiming Marx's Capital'. Certainly, those two are not shite, which is better than most. But they're still not a substitute for the original (and also interpretations of Marx rather than Marx himself).

Also, on 'Capital', it is perhaps worth browsing through or skipping the first three chapters, as it seems quite a few people have trouble with those. The rest of the first volume is easier to read through, and after that the first three would be more accessible. If you do get through it (ie. just the first volume), you'd have read a hell of a lot more Marx than most Marxists, and if you understand it, you would, again, have not a lot in common with most Marxists. It's certainly worth doing both (and it makes reading through threads on Revleft far more amusing).

Still, as introductions, by Marx himself, you can try 'Wage Labour and Capital' and 'Value, Price and Profit', which are briefer and more accessible, though his views in them didn't completely match those in 'Capital', though they were close enough to serve as introductions.

[.redstar.]

You could try "Capital : Fundamental concepts" by Marta Harnecker. It should be not too hard to find in free ebook format. If you read spanish then go over to rebelion.org they are epublishing the complete Marta Harnecker works in pdf format

[bailey_187]

Stephen Sharpio's guide is quite good

[blake 3:17]

If you can find it Marxist Economics for Socialists: A Critique of Reformism by John Harrison is great. It's very clear.

[ArrowLance]

It might not me exactly what you are looking for, but David Harvey has a good series of lectures on Capital that are meant to be watched as a compliment to reading the book itself. It should help reinforce ideas and explain parts that maybe you don't fully understand.

http://davidharvey.org/reading-capital/

[Os Cangaceiros]

Marx's Kapital for Beginners by David Smith and Phil Evans is quite good, I think. It's basically a brief, illustrated guide to Kapital, and it succeeds in putting it in fairly simple terms without being simplistic. (Nothing Human is Alien recommended it.)

I bought it on Amazon for less than a dollar, a while back.

[KC]

Edit

[The Ungovernable Farce]

Not read it myself, but I've heard "Reading Capital Politically" by Harry Cleaver (http://libcom.org/library/reading-capital-politically-cleaver)is meant to be good.

[x359594]

Marx's Kapital for Beginners by David Smith and Phil Evans is quite good, I think. It's basically a brief, illustrated guide to Kapital, and it succeeds in putting it in fairly simple terms without being simplistic...

Good as far as it goes, which is not beyond volume I. Volumes II and III of Das Kapital amplify its meaning and analysis of capitalism and modify some of the conclusions of volume I.

Everyone loves the last three paragraphs of chapter 32 in volume I, but there's a lot more to Das Kapital then those stirring paragraphs.

[zubovskyblvd]

There's an abridged version of Capital available, which I have (published by Oxford University Press) which has an excellent introduction by David McLellan which I found really helped me to understand some of the more difficult elements of the text. As an entry into what I think is a really difficult book/books to read, really useful.