In this commanding and demanding book, Andrea Brighenti prolongs Elias Canetti's dark reflections on the human condition in brutal times with a wide-ranging study of the elementary forms of power, command and crowds. Canetti is only a pre-text to return to Freud, Durkheim, Tarde and Deleuze to prepare the ground for new forms of collective resistance and individual survival in the twenty-first century.

Frederic Vandenberghe, Professor of Sociology, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

This deeply original book offers a most fascinatingaccount of Elias Canetti's relevance for contemporary social theory. Brighenti brilliantly shows that, though Canetti is widely disregarded by social theorists, this is undeserved, as his work offers a fresh perspective on power, resistance, and the social bond. A truly important intervention.

Christian Borch, Professor of Sociology, University of Copenhagen, Denmark

This book is an original and thought-provoking interpretation of Canetti, and a significant addition to the far too scarce attempts at a theoretical reading of his work.

Johann P. Arnason, Emeritus professor of sociology, La Trobe University, Australia