The Sources of Social Power, Vol. 2: The Rise of Classes and Nation States, 1760-1914 [Paperback]

Michael Mann (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The ambition of the conception is, against all conventional expectations, matched by the clarity and grandeur of the execution." The Times Literary Supplement

"This is a book in the grand Weberian tradition. Mann's conceptual skills and historical grasp are virtuosic and the scope of his enterprise is truly impressive." Politics and Society

"...the detail and scale of the work ensure that readers will find it informative and useful....intriguing and educative." Chris Sparks, American Journal of Sociology

"Not the least of Mann's achievements is his ability to gather and analyze comparable statistical material for much of this period for all five states....The insights and observations produced by Mann's fecund mind as it ranges over a century-and-a-half for five major countries are legion....Mann packs so much historical and comparative synthesis into his book and is so widely knowledgeable about social and state development in Europe and America that no student of comparative or historical sociology or state building will want to ignore it." Sidney Tarrow, American Political Science Review

"This work offers a treasure trove of facts and interpretations that will be useful to readers in many disciplines...." Choice

"...a unique brand of historical sociology that is refreshingly iconoclastic, remarkably complex, and breathtakingly ambitious....a must-read for comparative and historical sociologists." Philip S. Gorski, Contemporary Sociology

Product Description

This second volume of Michael Mann's analytical history of social power deals with power relations between the Industrial Revolution and the First World War, focusing on France, Great Britain, Hapsburg Austria, Prussia/Germany and the United States. Based on considerable empirical research it provides original theories of the rise of nations and nationalism, of class conflict, of the modern state and of modern militarism. While not afraid to generalize, it also stresses social and historical complexity. The author sees human society as "a patterned mess" and attempts to provide a sociological theory appropriate to this. This theory culminates in the final chapter, an original explanation of the causes of the First World War.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 828 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (September 24, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 052144585X
• ISBN-13: 978-0521445856
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #864,376 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An exceptional perspective for history, January 7, 2007

By	Manar HAMMAD (Boulogne Billancourt, France) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Sources of Social Power, Vol. 2: The Rise of Classes and Nation States, 1760-1914 (Paperback)

Michael Mann's "Sources of Social Power" (vol. I & II) is one of the most genuinely interesting books I have read during the last ten or fifteen years. The author's culture and documentation are extremely wide, the time and space spans covered are astonishingly vast. This reading is recommended to all scholars interested in history, sociology and anthropology.

The description framework used to interpret history of civilisations is constructed upon the interaction of four social networks, namely ideological (or religious), military, productive and political sets of relations between people. While the author does not discuss these categories on the abstract level, their pragmatic use produces luminous interpretations of history. Moreover, the systematic use of the said categories renders possible the comparison of civilisations separated by large sections of space and/or time.

We would like to read (or write down some day) a semantic analysis of the system made of the mentioned four categories, together with a discussion comparing them to the "three functions" of indo-european mythology (religious, military, productive) detected by Georges Dumézil in the iron age myths elaborated in latin, sanskritic or avestic languages. This does not seem to be an objective for the author, more interested in the social re-interpretation of large parts of known history.

Manar HAMMAD

7 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a worthy successor to Vol. 1, November 1, 2001

By	Tom L. Forest (Forest Grove, OR USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Sources of Social Power, Vol. 2: The Rise of Classes and Nation States, 1760-1914 (Paperback)

A philosopher of history as much as a historian and a sociologist, Michael Mann focuses here on early Modernity among the Occidental Great Powers -- France, Britain, Austria, Prussia/Germany, and the USA. While an inclusion of non-Occidental powers would be enlightening, there is sufficient material here to get an appreciation for the shift from agrarian to industrial bases for power. Mann also well elaborates the asymmetrical nature of power distribution and the variety of strategies used by those in power to maintain and build their power during this shift.

The intensive power of states increased dramatically, as did the larger aggregations and awarenessess within and between them: the nation-state was being born. Small level policies had unintended and often catastrophic effects at larger levels -- which is the kernal of Mann's anaysis of the causes of World War I. An upper-division college level book, perhaps a bit denser than it needs to be, still Vol. 2 is a most stimulating book. I look forward to Vol. 3.