Distinguishing four sources of power in human societies – ideological, economic, military and political – The Sources of Social Power traces their interrelations throughout human history. In this first volume, Michael Mann examines interrelations between these elements from neolithic times, through ancient Near Eastern civilizations, the classical Mediterranean age and medieval Europe, up to just before the Industrial Revolution in England. It offers explanations of the emergence of the state and social stratification; of city-states, militaristic empires and the persistent interaction between them; of the world salvation religions; and of the particular dynamism of medieval and early modern Europe. It ends by generalizing about the nature of overall social development, the varying forms of social cohesion and the role of classes and class struggle in history. First published in 1986, this new edition of Volume 1 includes a new preface by the author examining the impact and legacy of the work.

Reviews of the first edition:‘The ambition of the conception is, against all conventional expectations, matched by the clarity and grandeur of the execution.'

Source: The Times Literary Supplement

‘This work offers a treasure trove of facts and interpretations that will be useful to readers in many disciplines …'

Source: Choice

‘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.'

Source: Politics and Society

‘… an impressively learned, wise, and judicious study. It is a major work – perhaps a great work – and will be a landmark, for sure.'

William H. McNeill - University of Chicago

‘… a unique brand of historical sociology that is refreshingly iconoclastic, remarkably complex, and breathtakingly ambitious … a must-read for comparative and historical sociologists.'

Source: Contemporary Sociology