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The instant New York Times bestseller.

A brilliant recasting of the turning points in world history, including the one we're living through, as a collision between old power hierarchies and new social networks.

"Captivating and compelling." -- The New York Times

"Niall Ferguson has again written a brilliant book... In 400 pages you will have restocked your mind. Do it." -- The Wall Street Journal

"The Square and the Tower, in addition to being provocative history, may prove to be a bellwether work of the Internet Age." -- Christian Science Monitor

Most history is hierarchical: it's about emperors, presidents, prime ministers and field marshals. It's about states, armies and corporations. It's about orders from on high. Even history "from below" is often about trade unions and workers' parties. But what if that's simply because hierarchical institutions create the archives that historians rely on? What if we are missing the informal, less well documented social networks that are the true sources of power and drivers of change?

The 21st century has been hailed as the Age of Networks. However, in The Square and the Tower, Niall Ferguson argues that networks have always been with us, from the structure of the brain to the food chain, from the family tree to freemasonry. Throughout history, hierarchies housed in high towers have claimed to rule, but often real power has resided in the networks in the town square below. For it is networks that tend to innovate. And it is through networks that revolutionary ideas can contagiously spread. Just because conspiracy theorists like to fantasize about such networks doesn't mean they are not real.

From the cults of ancient Rome to the dynasties of the Renaissance, from the founding fathers to Facebook, The Square and the Tower tells the story of the rise, fall and rise of networks, and shows how network theory--concepts such as clustering, degrees of separation, weak ties, contagions and phase transitions--can transform our understanding of both the past and the present.

Just as The Ascent of Money put Wall Street into historical perspective, so The Square and the Tower does the same for Silicon Valley. And it offers a bold prediction about which hierarchies will withstand this latest wave of network disruption--and which will be toppled.

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Price Summary

  • We started tracking this book on July 10, 2017.
  • This book was $14.99 when we started tracking it.
  • The price of this book has changed 83 times in the past 2,454 days.
  • The current price of this book is $14.99 last checked one day ago.
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  • This lowest price this book has been offered at in the past year is $12.99.
  • The lowest price to date was $2.99 last reached on December 22, 2020.
  • This book has been $2.99 one time since we started tracking it.
  • The highest price to date was $14.99 last reached on March 18, 2023.
  • This book has been $14.99 16 times since we started tracking it.
  • This book is currently at its highest price since we started tracking it.

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We last verified the price of this book about one day ago. At that time, the price was $14.99. This price is subject to change. The price displayed on the Amazon.com website at the time of purchase is the price you will pay for this book. Please confirm the price before making any purchases.