Max Weber in Politics and Social Thought

Reviews / Votes

'Joshua Derman's wonderful new study ... attempts something that (to my knowledge, at least) has not been attempted before. His book not only provides an overview of Weber's thought, concerns, and historical context but also tells the complicated story of how his fragmentary writings were posthumously turned into the 'collected works' ... The strange story of the sea change undergone by 'charisma' is alone worth the price of admission to Derman's study. Like the rest of the book it leaves one with an enhanced understanding of the contingencies, misunderstandings, and institutional vagaries that Weber encountered on his posthumous road to canonization.' Dana Villa, Perspectives on Politics '... an erudite intellectual history of Weber's reception - based on a remarkably comprehensive mastery of all of Weber's major texts and the voluminous German and American secondary literatures ... Derman's history refreshes our view of Weber's entire oeuvre, highlighting the differences national, generational, ideological, and disciplinary boundaries made to Weber interpretation.' Matthew Specter, Central European History 'This is a lucidly written book that anyone interested in Weber, twentieth-century intellectual history, or the way context shapes ideas will find illuminating.' Matthew Kadane, The American Historical Review '... Derman has made a fine contribution to Weber studies when it comes to understanding the reason for Weber's long life after life. For this book helps us recognize, once again, that Weber's charisma survived routinization precisely because it could not be reified despite canonization.' Sung Ho Kim, Review of Politics