Conversations with Anthony Giddens

Anthony Giddens has been described as 'the most important English social philosopher of our time'. Over twenty-five years, and even more books, he has established himself as the most widely-read and widely-cited social theorist of his generation. His ideas have profoundly influenced the writing and teaching of sociology and social theory throughout the English-speaking world. In recent years, his writing has become much more explicitly political, and in 1996 he took up his high-profile appointment as Director of the London School of Economics and Political Science. It is in this new position and with these new political ideas that he has been described as the key intellectual figure of New Labour in Britain. Following the astonishing success of Labour in the 1997 General Election, his ideas have been the focus of intense interest. In this series of extended interviews with Chris Pierson, Giddens lays out with customary clarity and directness the principal themes in the development of his social theory and the distinctive political agenda which he recommends. This volume will be of great interest to second- and third-year students in sociology and social theory, politics and political theory, as well as to the general reader.

"[An] illuminating book." The Independent "For those seeking to come to grips with these advances in social theory Conversations with Anthony Giddens offers an excellent introduction. [This book] shows powerfully that he is one of the few contemporary theorists to cross the divide that separates the academic world from the broader public sphere." The Australian "Remarkably accessible ... and is the most revealing document so far concerning Giddens's background and career." The Times Higher Education Supplement "Anthony Giddens has earned a considerable reputation among social scientists over the past three decades as a theorist. Though important within the academy, such reputations have a limited cachet in the world at large. Recently, though, Giddens has attained bona fide celebrity, or at least demicelebrity, status outside the cloisters, in his related roles as director of the London School of Economics and intellectual darling of British Prime Minister Tony Blair's New Labour party. His name by now must be a household word in his native Britain, given the frequency with which he is mentioned in the media there. On this side of the Atlantic as well, he has been interviewed, cited as expert, and his ideas variously praised and panned in a wide variety of non-academic, even mainstream media...Those with even a passing interest in Giddens are likely to find this book useful, as Giddens summarizes his ideas with unusual succinctness" Christopher J. Richter, Communication Theory Book Review

Anthony Giddens is Director at the London School of Economics and Political Science. He was formerly Professor of Sociology and Fellow of King's College at the University of Cambridge. Christopher Pierson is Professor of Politics at the University of Nottingham.