The Civilizing Process stands out as Norbert Elias' greatest work, tracing the "civilizing" of manners and personality in Western Europe since the late Middle Ages by demonstrating how the formation of states and the monopolization of power within them changed Western society forever.

About the Author
Norbert Elias (1897-1990) taught at the University of Frankfurt until his exile from Hitler's Germany. In Britain, he worked at the Universities of London and Leicester, and in retirement was visiting professor in Ghana, Amsterdam, Munster, Bielefeld and many other universities. By the time of his death he was recognized as one of the outstanding social scientists of the twentieth century. His previous Blackwell books include: The Norbert Elias Reader, The Court Society, The Loneliness of the Dying, Involvement and Detachment, Time: An Essay, The Society of Individuals and, with Eric Dunning, Quest for Excitement.

Reviews
"Without doubt the most important piece of historical sociology since Max Weber." Richard Sennett, London School of Economics.

"A modern classic of the first order." Lewis Coser.

"Elias has all the boldness and sureness of touch of the old masters, of whom he is perhaps the last. Reading his pages one again and again makes the mental note that this or that point is worthy of a Max Weber ... One realises from a book like this that serious sociology must remain dependent on the insightful interpretation of history of just the kind that Elias provides." Bryan Wilson.

"The most remarkable recent attempt to contain the social and the individual within a unified scheme of sociological analysis." Philip Abrams

"The Civilizing Process is remarkable: eclectic, insightful and constantly surprising." Times Higher Education Supplement

Book Information
ISBN 9780631221616
Author Norbert Elias
Format Paperback
Page Count 592
Imprint Wiley-Blackwell
Publisher John Wiley and Sons Ltd
Weight(grams) 862g
Dimensions(mm) 226mm * 152mm * 31mm