Staggering political naivete... Q:... a time when intellectual diversity is the form of diversity that seems to be least valued in universities... (c)Q:Some among my contemporaries pursued wealth; few achieved it without at least a period of indentured servitude, usually working for a bank. (c)Q:Imitation is indeed the sincerest form of flattery, even when it is unconscious. (c)Q:To call Weishaupt’s thinking eclectic would be an understatement: his designs for the Order also included elements fr...

This is a big book in many ways. Niall Ferguson is a British historian who takes on complex issues. In this book he attempts, mostly successfully, to describe the characteristics of networks and hierarchies. He begins with a discussion of the Illuminati - there is a lot of confusion about who the Illuminati were - a small group of German intellectuals in Bavaria who thought that with the right amount of thinking almost any problem could be solved. Like most of their like they were a) secretive a...

The Square and the Tower by Niall Ferguson, Networks (The Square) Tower (Hierarchies) interestingly Ferguson points out that networks historically thought of as the powerless unwashed masses did in fact disrupt Hierarchies throughout history on a regular basis for instance "The French American and Russian revolutions" to name a couple, even Henry Kissinger the consummate professional powerless as an individual but then hired by the US Presidential office and suddenly master in the tower of power...

Let's say I write a book. I claim that entire history is all about "tools" (or "beliefs" or "egos" etc). Suppose I take this enormously broad term and at most break into two or some more categories - the tower equivalent could be "tools used to dominate" (other human beings or elements) and the square equivalent could be "tools used to cooperate". I pick a few dozens of random events from thousands of years of human history - let's say from the time of Hamurabi through to the rise of three monot...

Ferguson presents here a brief introduction to network theory accompanied by illustrations of its application ranging over the last 500 years but focused on recent events such as the internet explosion, 9/11, the 2007/8 crash and the 2016 presidential election. His viewpoint is globalist Establishment (from a very Anglo-American perspective), Henry Kissinger apparently being at the forefront of his role models, and deeply pessimistic as he contemplates the interaction of old hierarchical network...

I am a big fan of Niall Ferguson's writing. He has the gift of being able to explain a complex subject in a lively, entertaining but intellectually responsible way - perhaps nowhere more so than in his wonderful 2008 book, "Money: a financial history of the world".I therefore looked forward to reading "The Square and the Tower". In fact, I was biased toward it before I even opened it. The fact that I can only give it three stars is an indication of my disappointment. This book has a feeling of b...

2.5 Stars!“Successful networks evade public attention; unsuccessful ones attract it, and it is their notoriety, rather than their achievement, that leads to their over-representation.”The preface of this is a fairly nauseating mix of humble bragging and profound lack of self-awareness, which is typical of someone who moves in the circles Ferguson does. He talks of meeting the son of a distinguishing banker at a tea party at the British consulate “By sheer good luck” and this really sets the tone...

I was approved for a copy for review via NetGalley!Sadly, this was a DNF for me at 20%. I am personally not the biggest fan of non-fiction works and found some of the terminology difficult to understand. I did like the use of diagrams though, as this made the chapters look visual. Sadly, I lost interest and will not be finishing.

Drawing on the best modern scholarship, this book seeks to rescue the history of networks from the clutches of the conspiracy theorists, and to show that historical change often can and should be understood in terms of precisely such network-based challenges to hierarchical orders. In both the Introduction to and the Afterword following the meat of The Square and the Tower, author Niall Ferguson invokes the image of the Piazza del Campo in Siena, Tuscany – a medieval square that hosts informa

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3.5 stars for fuelling debateMore polemic than history, Ferguson has certainly digested a huge amount of material and tries to re-cast the entire history of mankind as a constant struggle between the power of hierarchies and networks. This kind of systematic binary categorisation, however, tends to simplify his vision - as his own narrative makes clear, the boundaries between a hierarchy and a network may shift, dissolve and reform: Russian communism, and Hitler's fascism might both have started...

This book, by the always fascinating Niall Ferguson (though his main product for sale is always himself), analyzes capsule summaries of episodes from history, in order to negatively contrast spontaneous, networked action (the “square”) with hierarchical control (the “tower”). Two theses flow from this, one stated early on, the other only explicitly presented at the end. The first is that our networked age is not unique; in fact, it is the second such age, and lessons are to be gained from this,

Every time I read this guy I walk away with a new perspective on history. He does mostly economic history but has a true gift for seeing the big picture in the evolution of human progress as a whole. ‘From the Freemasons to Facebook’ is an apt subtitle. It presents a healthy comparison of current social networking trends to the traditional networking of the past and gives a good idea of what to expect in the future, including possible future wars in Cyberia (I love that word.) Fascinating stuff....

I greatly enjoyed Ferguson's previous books, Civilization and The Ascent of Money, so I was looking forward to this one but it's a thumbs down I'm afraid. The idea of contrasting hierarchies with networks and putting this into an historical context must have seemed like a awfully good one for a book but actually there just isn’t' enough flesh on the bone. It hasn't stopped him from doing a staggering amount of research - a third of the book is given to notes, bibliography and references - but it...

Incredibly rich account. The first quarter of the book is truly captivating. Great summary of the network analysis theory and insightful applications to different pivotal moments across the historical timeline. But then it gets a bit repetitive and overwhelming with misc details (?). Having said that Niall Ferguson is a powerful non-fiction writer and a man of incredible erudition. So providing you can keep up with Niall as he leapfrogs from one century to the next, from one luminary to another

I received Niall Ferguson’s The Square and the Tower as a gift from my best friend and I have to confess that when I first read the title, I thought it was a checkers metaphor - but no, actually it is inspired by two architectural designs, one medieval and the other contemporary. The medieval one is a landscape from fourteenth century Siena with its Torre del Mangia of the Palazzo Pubblico shadowing a popular market and meeting place named Piazza del Campo. The tower’s height, matching the heigh...

The central purpose of this book is quite simple and worthwhile - a re-exposition of international history in terms of the ongoing dialectic between networks and hierarchies and, as such, it is enlightening and useful.Being a popular account from a very prolific historian who doubles up on occasions as public intellectual, you can detect a lot of magpie activity - cherry picking from work already done and then making it useful to the thesis - so do not expect over much original research.The book...

Niall Ferguson manages to deeply explore the intricacies of social networks and their political and economic contexts whilst also creating a highly readable historical account. His voice is clear & unapologetic about his conclusions and his methods - the use of social network analysis - to demonstrate the power of relationships & communication by various people in different contexts builds a powerful argument that our obsession with social networks today is built on a familiar story played out i...

I enjoy reading Ferguson's books, and this one was no different. However, it was not my favorite from this author. The science and history behind networks was fascinating, and it was interesting to see how the interaction between networks and hierarchies shaped history. However, I would have liked more depth and a wider variety of historical examples of the hierarchy vs. network struggle. I do not think that a couple of pages dedicated to each historical event was enough to persuasively make the...

This is a classic Niall Ferguson book, meaning that he takes a really wide, sweeping view of history over a very long period and tries to synthesise it under a particular theme. It is this skill in synthesis and accessible narrative that is his strength, as his books are built on the work of others, rather than his own original research. In this case, the synthesis is directed by academic understanding of networks. The book is ambitious and makes some interesting points, but it suffers from a ve...