Puzzlement: How Did A Hardcore Economics Book Become A Bestseller?

“Somehow, ‘Capital in the Twenty-First Century’ by Thomas Piketty has become a conversation piece among well-read people. Its graphic red-and-ivory cover is inescapable. Early in its launch, it hit No 1 on Amazon’s bestseller list and the paper version – a doorstop in punishing, heavy hardcover – sold out in major bookstores.”