If you are looking for a book to bolster your defense of, or attack upon, socialism, this is not the book for you. Instead, this short read provides an easy introduction into the development of Socialism, from its idealistic early proponents to those later in the 19th century attempting to define a more realistic socialism.

While Engels provides an overview of the "superiority" of socialism over capitalism, his arguments helped me to understand the motivation for socialism, rather than providing a rigorous defense.

As a libertarian, I don't agree with Engels that the capitalist exploits the wage laborer -- I think the stronger argument can be made that the capitalist enables the wage laborer -- but Engels does present his position clearly.

If you are looking for a good, short introduction to socialism, this is the book for you.