Michael Mann is one of the most influential sociologists writing today. His three-volume work The Sources of Social Power, the third volume of which has just been completed, has transformed our way of thinking about power and has rewritten the history of human societies. No one interested in understanding how the modern world was shaped, how we got to where we are today and where we're likely to be heading, can afford to ignore this modern classic. Michael Mann is, as John Hall aptly describes him, 'a Max Weber for our times.'

Conducted in the form of an extended dialogue with...