In the initial lines of his introduction, Poggi outlines the basic goals of this volume: he intended to discuss clearly the topics addressed by Weber with his own words, rather than resort to frequent quotations; and he wanted the text to be short. These goals are successfully achieved in this book, which, notwithstanding its conciseness and the essential nature of its academic references, offers accurate judgments and a sharp overview of the inexhaustible contributions Weber made to the development of social science. After a traditional chapter on the scholar's life and works, the text examines issues of method and the Weberian idea of historical-social processes. Two additional chapters are respectively devoted to central issues in Weber's thought and research: religion and politics.

Gianfranco Poggi teaches History of Sociological Thought at the University of Trento.