Anthony Giddens An Introduction to a Social Theorist

Anthony Giddens is one of the world's most prominent and prolific sociologists, and yet his ideas often prove difficult for the beginning student of sociology. This is the first introduction to the work of Giddens, including the major part of his sociological and social theoretical project. Kaspersen traces Giddens's development from the late sixties to the nineties in a straightforward, readable style, covering all parts of Giddens' sociology in a well-arranged summary. The first six chapters are built up chronologically, each standing alone as an exegesis of one aspect of Giddens's theories. Chapter seven features a lengthy one-on-one interview with Giddens by the author, in which Giddens analyzes and interprets the contemporary world through his own specialized viewpoint. Chapter eight is the first and only critical overview in the book, as the author discusses traditional responses to Giddens's work. Finally, the book contains the most complete and up-to-date Giddens bibliography ever compiled. This introductory text presents Giddens to the sociology and political science community in the simplest form yet.

Lars Bo Kaspersen is Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark, where he teaches sociology, history, and politics. He is co-editor, with Heine Andersen, of Classical and Modern Social Theory (Blackwell, 2000). He is currently working on the origin, development, and transformation of the Danish welfare state, and on the state formation and the emergence of citizenship in France, British, Germany, and Scandinavia in a historical comparative perspective.