Buy used:

$14.74

FREE Shipping on orders over $25.00 shipped by Amazon or get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime

FREE delivery: Wednesday, May 5 on orders over $25.00 shipped by Amazon. Details

Used: Acceptable | Details

Sold by 3stars2bars

Fulfilled by Amazon

Have one to sell?

Sell on Amazon

Flip to back Flip to front

Listen Playing... Paused You're listening to a sample of the Audible audio edition.
Learn more

See this image

Follow the Author

John Kenneth Galbraith

The Anatomy of Power Paperback – April 1, 1985

by John Kenneth Galbraith (Author)

20 ratings

See all formats and editions Hide other formats and editions

Price

New from

Used from

Hardcover

"Please retry"

$12.65

$59.64

$4.94

Paperback

"Please retry"

$14.74

—

$3.48

Print length

206 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Houghton Mifflin Company
Publication date

April 1, 1985
Dimensions

6 x 0.75 x 9 inches
ISBN-10

0395381703
ISBN-13

978-0395381700
See all details

Customers who viewed this item also viewed

Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1

Michael Korda
36
Mass Market Paperback
22 offers from $4.99
R. G. H Siu
18
Paperback
13 offers from $99.89
John Kenneth Galbraith
50
Hardcover
52 offers from $3.05
John Kenneth Galbraith
19
Hardcover
18 offers from $33.40
John Kenneth Galbraith
150
Paperback
$14.39
In Stock.
Andy McNab
242
Paperback
$17.87
In stock.

Customers who bought this item also bought

Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1

Eric Jorgenson
2,268
Paperback
$12.84
In Stock.
Michael Korda
36
Mass Market Paperback
22 offers from $4.99
Eliot A. Cohen
119
Paperback
$12.29
In Stock.

What other items do customers buy after viewing this item?

Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1

Michael Korda
36
Mass Market Paperback
22 offers from $4.99
R. G. H Siu
18
Paperback
13 offers from $99.89
John Kenneth Galbraith
50
Hardcover
52 offers from $3.05
John Kenneth Galbraith
47
Paperback
$14.35
In Stock.

Special offers and product promotions

Amazon Business: Make the most of your Amazon Business account with exclusive tools and savings. Login now
Amazon Business : For business-only pricing, quantity discounts and FREE Shipping. Register a free business account

Product details

Publisher : Houghton Mifflin Company; Reprint edition (April 1, 1985)
Language : English
Paperback : 206 pages
ISBN-10 : 0395381703
ISBN-13 : 978-0395381700
Item Weight : 12.7 ounces
Dimensions : 6 x 0.75 x 9 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,330,748 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1,875 in General Elections & Political Process
- #12,195 in Political Science (Books)

Customer Reviews:
20 ratings

Customer reviews

5 star		72%
4 star		18%
3 star		9%
2 star 0% (0%)		0%
1 star 0% (0%)		0%

How are ratings calculated?

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Ross

Astounding!

Reviewed in the United States on August 18, 2016

Verified Purchase

I've purchased this book several times. It is the first book I recommend people read, the first book I lend out, and the only book that I've replaced every time I've lent it out. This is a phenomenal work and no other book has so changed my view of the world. I absolutely recommend everyone read this book. It is by no means dated and there a few books being published in our times that can rival it. Don't pass this one up.

8 people found this helpful

Helpful

Michael Hanson

One of the best books ever written

Reviewed in the United States on February 17, 2016

Verified Purchase

This book can be life-altering. For me, it is impossible to see the world in the same way as I did prior to having read this amazing work. I would highly recommend this book for every single human being on the planet. Mr. Galbraith is quite obviously THE expert on the subject, and although this book is very scholarly, Mr. Galbraith's style is extremely easy to read. If I could give this book 50 stars, I would.

3 people found this helpful

Helpful

L.Duane Brand

Four Stars

Reviewed in the United States on September 4, 2015

Verified Purchase

Very good Book

Helpful

A lesson in power dynamics

Reviewed in the United States on May 16, 2018

Incredibly interesting book on the nature, sources, and exercise of power. The word “power” gets tossed around a lot. Here, Galbraith writes about “the ability of individuals or groups to win the submission of others to their purpose”.

According to Galbraith there are three sources of power: personality, property, and organisation; and three instruments: condign (threat of punishment), compensatory (positive incentives), and social conditioning. To explain, take the Christian religion. The 1. Personality of Jesus, 2. Immense property and wealth of the Church and 3. Effective organisation of Christianity at the community level - make for a powerful combination. Then there’s the 1. condign threat of spending eternity in hell for wrong deeds, 2. monetary and social gain achieved through association with the church, and 3. A comprehensive social conditioning (obedience, reinforcement).

There are insights here that are a revelation. Take his observation of symmetric responses to power. For most groups that seek to gain power, an equal and opposite countervailing force exists to curtail power. Think pro-life v pro choice. Or, note how often we see a similar level of internal and external exercise of power. The Mafia is as ruthless to its own members as it is to rival gangs. The military, media, economic systems and government are all analysed for their unique power dynamics.

The fact that Galbraith's analysis resonates so strongly with the reality of power today demonstrates its durability. In this book, Galbraith peels back and uncovers the complex power dynamics all around us while explaining them to the reader in an understandable and insightful way.

5 people found this helpful

Helpful

Luc REYNAERT

The love of power is the love of ourselves

Reviewed in the United States on December 24, 2003

For prof. Galbraith there are three sorts of power (condign, compensating and conditioned) and three sources of power (personality, property and organization).
With these elements he sketches a historical evolution of the West from feudalism to capitalism, integrating as diverse aspects as politics, economics, religion, the family, the military, advertising, media and education.
This book was written in 1983, in a sometimes cynical tone, especially in the comments on politicians, businessmen and the military. It contains positive and negative elements.
The author predicted the omnipotence of the military and the intelligence organizations, as well as their obsessive need for a specific enemy.
He saw the rise of the organizational power, but not the fact that the influence of the transnational corporations would dwarf state and trade union power (see N. Hertz - The silent take-over).
A mistake is his underestimation of the power of the media and their message controlled by the powerful.
Also, the Darwinian aspect of power is not commented on.
But, this small book is still a very worth-while read.

23 people found this helpful

Helpful

Abheek Saha

A very insightful book

Reviewed in the United States on August 11, 2010

Prof. Galbraith has surpassed himself in this book. Breaking power up into categories, he delves into sources of power, the evolution of power, projection and counter-action. The book is tightly written and the author provides plenty of historical examples to back it up. Written in the 1980s, it reflects the understanding of the time; specifically, Prof. Galbraith probably over-estimates military power and under-estimates the power of the press and the global corporation. But this takes little away from the deep insight in the book. One of the most powerful ideas in the book is that conditioning power, power which allows one to control how others think is the most insidious when it is hidden by a "solvent". One can extend this idea to understand how military power hides behind a facade of nationalism, and corporate power hides behind the efficient market hypothesis. By understanding how conditioning power, allied with the press works, we can get a 'under-the-hood' understanding of how modern society works. Absolutely recommended for everybody.

5 people found this helpful

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

John Courtneidge

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 20, 2018

Verified Purchase

Superb book!

SueF

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 15, 2018

Verified Purchase

Excellent

Sergiy Muzyka

An ok book.

Reviewed in Germany on May 14, 2020

Verified Purchase

It is an OK book.

The first 100 pages are quite interesting, describing three broad instrumental categories of power, their sources and historical development as well as change in their importance.
The rest of the pages can be ignored, the author just fills the pages.

Most of the valuable stuff was said in the first 100 pages.
One of the big negatives of the book, it is written in an unnecessarily complicated language.

From my subjective opinion, the topic could have been written in a much easier language, unless one wants to show off his vocabulary.

Brian R Farmer

Five Stars

Reviewed in Canada on February 12, 2018

Verified Purchase

Well written, quite revealing.

See all reviews

Follow the Author

Similar authors to follow

The Anatomy of Power Paperback – April 1, 1985

Customers who viewed this item also viewed

Customers who bought this item also bought

What other items do customers buy after viewing this item?

Special offers and product promotions

Product details

Customer reviews

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Top reviews from other countries