The Square and the Tower: Networks and Power, from the Freemasons to Facebook

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.

Throughout history, hierarchies - the leaders, governments, and corporations presiding from on high - have claimed to rule. But often real power has resided in the networks in the town square below. From the Illuminati to the founding fathers to Facebook, The Square and the Tower tells the story of networks' rise, fall, and rise again, and in doing so transforms our understanding of both the past and the present. Just as The Ascent of Money put Wall Street into historical perspective, so The Square and the Tower does the same for Silicon Valley. And it offers a bold prediction about which hierarchies will withstand this latest wave of network disruption - and which will be toppled.