The instant New York Times bestseller.

A brilliant recasting from the turning points in world background, like the one we’re living through, as a collision between old power hierarchies and new social networks.

“Captivating and compelling.” -The New York Times

‘Niall Ferguson provides again written a brilliant publication…In 400 web pages you will have restocked your mind. Do it.’ -The Wall Street Journal

“The Square and the Tower, in addition to being provocative history, may end up being about The Square and the Tower: Systems and Power, from your Freemasons to Facebook a bellwether work of the Internet Age group.” -Christian Research Monitor

Most background is hierarchical: it’s about emperors, presidents, excellent ministers and field marshals. It’s about states, armies and companies. It’s about orders from on high. Also history ‘from below’ is certainly frequently about trade unions and employees’ parties. But imagine if that’s simply because hierarchical institutions develop the archives that historians rely on? What if we are missing the informal, less well documented social networks that will be the true sources of power and drivers of change?

The 21st century continues to be hailed as the Age of Networks. Nevertheless, in The Square and the Tower, Niall Ferguson argues that networks will always be with us, in the structure of the brain to the meals chain, through the family members tree to freemasonry. Throughout history, hierarchies housed in high towers possess claimed to guideline, but often true power offers resided in the networks in the city square below. For it is systems that tend to innovate. And it is through networks that revolutionary tips can contagiously spread. Because conspiracy theorists like to fantasize about such networks doesn’t indicate they are not real.

From the cults of ancient Rome towards the dynasties from the Renaissance, in the founding fathers to Facebook, The Square as well as the Tower tells the storyplot from the rise, fall and rise of networks, and shows how network theory–concepts such as clustering, levels of separation, weak ties, contagions and phase transitions–can transform our understanding of both past and the present.

Just as The Ascent of Cash put Wall Street into historical perspective, therefore the Square as well as the Tower does the same for Silicon Valley. And it includes a vibrant prediction about which hierarchies will withstand this latest wave of network disruption–and which will be toppled.