When the monarchy is abolished in Sweden, the Royal Palace of Stockholm becomes a museum of contemporary art. An entrancing and sharply crafted view of the political changes that have convulsed Egypt since the onset of the Arab Spring, "The Square," by Egyptian-American documentarian Jehane Noujaim ("Control Room"), follows a number of individuals as they negotiate recurrent cycles of revolutionary hope succeeded by turmoil that sometimes turns harrowing and lethal. This romp through mostly modern, mostly Western history will delight amateur historians with its fast-paced, gripping narrative. The square — the town square, the market square — represents social networks, “the structures that human beings naturally form”. 6 – Notable. A tweetstorm summary of "The Square and the Tower", a history book on waves of centralization & decentralization- amazon.co.uk/dp/B07475CBFT/… The premise: the past 500 years can be seen as a trend towards decentralized networks, then the co-option of those networks by authorities The Tower is vertical, the Square is horizontal. In The Daily Telegraph, historian Peter Frankopan described the book as "provocative". In the past three decades, it is easy to identify a certain trend in this direction. For experts – You’ll get the higher-level knowledge/instructions you need as an expert. Niall Ferguson: The Square and the Tower: Networks, Hierarchies and the Struggle for Global Power. 10 – Brilliant. Bold – You’ll find arguments that may break with predominant views. The Square and the Tower is an excellent book written by historian and writer Niall Ferguson about networks and hierarchies. Niall Ferguson’s The Square and the Tower: Networks, Hierarchies and the Struggle for Global Power is an attempt at explaining the inter-connectivity of the world we live in through the lens of history, while also keeping an eye on the near future. The Square and the Tower Networks and Power, From the Freemasons to Facebook (Book) : Ferguson, Niall : Throughout history, hierarchies housed in high towers have claimed to rule, but often real power has resided in the networks in the town square below. The Tower is the visible hand of order, the Square the invisible one of disruption and chaos. Purchase Link. Books we rate below 5 won’t be summarized. It is through networks that revolutionary ideas can contagiously spread. A brilliant recasting of the turning points in world history, including the one we're living through, as a collision between old power hierarchies and new social networks. But Ferguson’s passion for his subject and determination to inform laypeople make this an entertaining, informative read. Historian Niall Ferguson delivers a fresh, popular take on history. A generation mostly removed from conflict—the baby-boomers—had failed to learn the lesson that it is not unregulated networks that reduce inequality but wars, revolutions, hyperinflations and other forms of expropriations (emphasis added). A helpful and/or enlightening book, inspite of its obvious shortcomings. The Square and the Tower Networks and Power, From the Freemasons to Facebook (Book) : Ferguson, Niall : The instant New York Times bestseller. Inspiring – You’ll want to put into practice what you’ve read immediately. Well structured – You’ll find this to be particularly well organized to support its reception or application. 9 – Superb. Most historians focus on hierarchies – tales of kingdoms, republics, generals and dictatorships. Visionary – You’ll get a glimpse of the future and what it might mean for you. We rate each piece of content on a scale of 1–10 with regard to these two core criteria. Concrete Examples – You’ll get practical advice illustrated with examples of real-world applications or anecdotes. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. The Square, by contrast, is a network of markets, languages, shared friends and enemies and enterprising individuals playing a game with no regulator in sight, it is spontaneous in nature. Though he acknowledges that others have explored the social network view of history, Ferguson uses his gossipy analysis of the global influence of old-boy networks – such as at Oxford and Cambridge universities and in the Saxe-Coburg and Rothschild dynasties – to serve up delicious food for thought. A helpful and/or enlightening book that has a substantial number of outstanding qualities without excelling across the board, e.g. These are the square and the tower of the book’s title. Throughout, he makes the point that two forces shape world events: influential social networks and powerful hierarchies. For beginners – You’ll find this to be a good primer if you’re a learner with little or no prior experience/knowledge. The tower represents hierarchical control and secular authority, the top-down approach to social structure. A helpful and/or enlightening book that stands out by at least one aspect, e.g. For instance, it may be offer decent advice in some areas but be repetitive or unremarkable in others. From the cults of ancient Rome to the dynasties of the Renaissance, from the founding fathers to Facebook, The Square and the Tower tells the story of the rise, fall and rise of networks, and shows how network theory--concepts such as clustering, degrees of separation, weak ties, contagions and phase transitions--can transform our understanding of both the past and the present. Background – You’ll get contextual knowledge as a frame for informed action or analysis. While the rating tells you how good a book is according to our two core criteria, it says nothing about its particular defining features. But throughout history, networks rival hierarchies. The books discusses how features of networks and hierarchies relate to history, including the writing of history. Your highlights will appear here. The twenty-first century has been hailed as the Networked Age. The Square Tower by Tiger Group is a Residential 37 Storey Fully Furnished Studio and 1 Bedrooms well established apartments with inspiring design located strategically near the junction of Al Khail Road and Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Road at Jumeirah Village Circle (JVC) in Dubai. Niall Ferguson's The Square and the Tower is a caution against seeing our new, networked world as an unalloyed blessings. The Square and Tower: Networks, Hierarchies and the Struggle for Global Power is a book by Niall Ferguson, published in 2018 by Penguin Books, where he explains how those at the top of the towers of power have been overstated and the influence of "the social networks down below, in the town squares" has been underestimated. In Prospect, David Goodhart called the book "immensely stimulating, absorbing, illuminating ... sends ideas blazing all over the place".[1][2][3][4]. The Square and Tower: Networks, Hierarchies and the Struggle for Global Power is a book by Niall Ferguson, published in 2018 by Penguin Books, where he explains how those at the top of the towers of power have been overstated and the influence of "the social networks down below, in the town squares" has been underestimated.