Defining the Age

Daniel Bell, His Time and Ours

By: Paul Starr, Julian E. Zelizer

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Paperback | 1 February 2022 | Edition Number 1

At a Glance

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344 Pages

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21.5 x 13.8 x 1.6

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The sociologist Daniel Bell was an uncommonly acute observer of the structural forces transforming the United States and other advanced societies in the twentieth century. The titles of Bell's major books-The End of Ideology (1960), The Coming of Post-Industrial Society (1973), and The Cultural Contradictions of Capitalism (1976)-became hotly debated frameworks for understanding the era when they were published.

In Defining the Age, Paul Starr and Julian Zelizer bring together a group of distinguished contributors to consider how well Bell's ideas captured their historical moment and continue to provide profound insights into today's world. Wide-ranging essays demonstrate how Bell's writing has informed thinking about subjects such as the history of socialism, the roots of the radical right, the emerging postindustrial society, and the role of the university. The book also examines Bell's intellectual trajectory and distinctive political stance. Calling himself "a socialist in economics, a liberal in politics, and a conservative in culture," he resisted being pigeon-holed, especially as a neoconservative.

Defining the Age features essays from historians David A. Bell, Michael Kazin, and Margaret O'Mara; sociologists Steven Brint and Jenny Andersson; media scholar Fred Turner; and political theorists Jan-Werner Muller and Stefan Eich. While differing in their judgments, they agree on one premise: Bell's ideas deserve the kind of nuanced and serious attention that they finally receive in this book.

Industry Reviews

Defining the Age captures like no other book on Daniel Bell the range of his interests, the reach of his learning, and the drama of the historical moment in which he lived. Anyone interested in Bell and modern social theory will have to read this book. -- Mark Lilla, author of The Once and Future Liberal: After Identity Politics
There is much of value in the essays, whose subject richly deserves such close attention. * National Review *
The contributions of the volume offer an enlightening exploration of [Bell's] ideas in their historical context and an original attempt to revisit his insights for our time. * S-USIH Blog *
Excellent for graduate level courses on contemporary social theory....Highly recommended. * Choice *

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