Illustrating both the continuity and development of the thought of Norbert Elias, this book brings together key excerpts from all aspects of his work, and should make it much easier for readers to come to grips with his thinking as a whole.

Sources and Acknowledgements. Introduction. Part I: 1920-1935:. 1. Idea and Individual. 2. On Primitive Art. 3. Court Society as a Sociological Problem. 4. The Expulsion of the Huguenots from France. 5. The Kitsch Style and the Age of Kitsch. Part II: 1935-1940:. 6. An Outline of The Civilizing Process. 7. Kultur and Civilization. 8. The Rise of the Fork. 9. The Sociogenesis of Courts. 10. Civilization and Rationalization. 11. The Society of Individuals - I. Part III: 1950-1965:. 12. Sociology and Psychiatry. 13. The Naval Profession. 14. Involvement and Detachment. 15. The Society of Individuals - II. 16. The Quest for Excitement in Leisure. 17. Group Charisma and Group Disgrace. 18. The Breakdown of Civilization. Part IV: 1965-1990:. 19. The Civilizing Process Revisited. 20. The Concept of Figurations. 21. African Art. 22. An Interview in Amsterdam. 23. The Sciences. 24. On the Concept of Everyday Life. 25. The Retreat of Sociologists into the Present. 26. Renate Rubinstein. 27. The Civilizing of Parents. 28. Technization and Civilization. 29. The Society of Individuals - III. 30. Informalization and the Civilizing Process. 31. Mozart's Revolt. 32. The Symbol Theory. Notes. Bibliography. Index.

Norbert Elias (1897-1990) is now recognized as one of the most profound sociological thinkers of the twentieth century, but he gained international recognition only towards the end of his very long life. This volume, organized chronologically, shows how Elias's thought developed over time - from a focus on the development of society in Western Europe to an even more encompassing view of human history as a whole. In so doing, it makes available for the first time selections from the whole range of his oeuvre, showing both the development and the underlying consistency of his work, from his doctoral thesis in Philosophy at Breslau in 1922 through his years in Heidelberg and Frankfurt and his magnum opus The Civilizing Process to the publication of The Germans which was published posthumously in English in 1996.