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'This superb introduction to the thought of one of the leading contemporary social theorists is both comprehensive, entirely reliable and written in a clear and approachable manner. This is the book Bauman's many admirers have been waiting for, and it will undoubtedly swell their numbers.' William Outhwaite, University of Sussex
'A very accessible introduction.' Choice
'This book is both an introduction to the main themes of Bauman's work and an intellectual biography. Smith is clear, unpretentious, and unfailingly accurate, with a remarkably sound eye for what is significant and what is not, and for what will maintain the book's narrative drive. As a guide for the perplexed or just plain curious it could hardly be bettered.' British Journal of Sociology
'Dennis Smith's book is part of Polity's series of Key Contemporary Thinkers, and on this evidence it is shaping up to be a worthwhile set of texts. He has not written a "Beginner's Guide to Bauman", but rather an in-depth piece of work which includes some lengthy correspondence with Bauman.' Contemporary Politics
Part I: Setting the Agenda: .
1. Living Without a Guidebook.
2. No Easy Choices.
3. Who is Zygmunt Bauman?.
4. The Power of the Past.
Part II: The Road to Postmodernity: .
5. The Road to the West.
6. The Road to Utopia.
7. The Road to the Berlin Wall.
8. The Trilogy.
9. Bauman's Vision of Modernity and Postmodernity.
Part III: Dialogue: .
10. Between Critical Theory and Post-Structuralism. The ambivalence of criticism.
11. A Correspondence between Zygmunt Bauman and Dennis Smith.
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Bibliography.
Index.
