I wonder if it could be shorter, certainly his "introduction" to the same topic published later this decade is.

I appreciate in particular the addition of 20th century anthropology to marxist economic theory. On the other hand I didn't find the many charts and equations very convincing.

I was surprised that Ernest didn't mention Marx by name much. This book is rather a retelling of what Marx said, but presumably it is more articulate. I haven't read the original (i imagine that includes Capital) but I did find this book to be very readable even if it's many decades old.