I am not an economist, but I have read other books about economics. Piketty has certainly thrown a spanner in the works. This book is long. There is about a third which is meant as justification to academia (aka. the methodology), and a bunch of literary references which aren't really critical, and then a bunch of crazy policy talk that the author admits is impossible. Some of his talk about transparency makes my privacy hackles raise... however, it is a book about bringing the discussion back to equality, and he has certainly done that. This book has made me certainly consider my position... and even if you don't agree with Piketty, it will make you think too.

If you can find a digest, a "Cole's Notes" version, that might be a good option. But Piketty is a good writer (well, the translation is good), so it is pretty accessible and easy to read. He has an opinion, and is certainly willing to share it, which makes this book different from some dry Economics 301 text you might mistake it for.