"Immanuel Wallerstein is both a redoubtable world historian and visionary prophet. Such a combination is unusual...[and] makes him a commanding figure, whose rhetorical address, radical ideas, and remarkable erudition challenge ordinary, established patterns of professional discourse."-William H. McNeill, Diplomatic History "Wallerstein draws on his historical erudition and formidable theoretical powers to cast light on the ongoing transformation of our society. Even more impressive, he dares to think about the future."-Frances Fox Piven "Wallerstein is always readable, often persuasive, and occasionally profound."-Michael Mann, The British Journal of Sociology "The volume is consistently well written, historically grounded in its own right, and, when taken as a whole, the essays provide new understanding of the thinking that underlies Wallerstein's world-systems analysis."-Choice "Immanuel Wallerstein tells a fairly clear story in this book."-The American Journal of Sociology