Anthony Giddens is one of the world's most prominent and prolific sociologists, and yet he is also a difficult study for the beginning student of sociology. This is the first introduction to the work of Giddens, including the major part of his sociological and social theoretical project. The author traces Giddens' development from the late sixties to the nineties in a straightforward, readable style, covering all parts of Giddens's sociology in a well-arranged summary. Also featured is a lengthy interview with Giddens by the author, and the most comprehensive Giddens bibliography to date.

Lars Bo Kaspersen is Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark, where he teaches sociology, history, and politics. He is co-editor, with Heine Andersen, of Classical and Modern Social Theory (Blackwell, 2000). He is currently working on the origin, development, and transformation of the Danish welfare state, and on the state formation and the emergence of citizenship in France, British, Germany, and Scandinavia in a historical comparative perspective.