Get 3 months for $0.99 a month + $20 Audible credit

LIMITED TIME OFFER
The Square and the Tower cover art

The Square and the Tower

Networks and Power, from the Freemasons to Facebook

 Preview
Get this deal Try for $0.00
Offer ends December 1, 2025 11:59pm PT.
Join Audible for only $0.99 a month for the first 3 months, and get a bonus $20 credit for Audible.ca. Bonus credit notification will be received via email.
1 audiobook per month of your choice from our unparalleled catalog.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, podcasts, and Originals.
Auto-renews at $14.95/mo after 3 months. Cancel anytime.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo + applicable taxes after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

The Square and the Tower

Written by: Niall Ferguson
Narrated by: Elliot Hill
Get this deal Try for $0.00

$14.95/mo after 3 months. Cancel anytime. Offers ends December 1, 2025 11:59pm PT.

$14.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $29.14

Buy Now for $29.14

About this listen

 The instant New York Times bestseller.

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.

“Captivating and compelling.” —The New York Times

"Niall Ferguson has again written a brilliant book...In 400 pages you will have restocked your mind. Do it." —The Wall Street Journal

“The Square and the Tower, in addition to being provocative history, may prove to be a bellwether work of the Internet Age.” —Christian Science Monitor

Most history is hierarchical: it's about emperors, presidents, prime ministers and field marshals. It's about states, armies and corporations. It's about orders from on high. Even history "from below" is often about trade unions and workers' parties. But what if that's simply because hierarchical institutions create the archives that historians rely on? What if we are missing the informal, less well documented social networks that are the true sources of power and drivers of change?

The 21st century has been hailed as the Age of Networks. However, in The Square and the Tower, Niall Ferguson argues that networks have always been with us, from the structure of the brain to the food chain, from the family tree to freemasonry. 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. For it is networks that tend to innovate. And it is through networks that revolutionary ideas can contagiously spread. Just because conspiracy theorists like to fantasize about such networks doesn't mean they are not real.

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.

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. Modern Other Religions, Practices & Sacred Texts Political Science Politics & Government World Socialism Imperialism Latin America Founding Fathers Thought-Provoking Middle Ages Royalty Middle East Liberalism China Capitalism Iran War Africa Refugee Taxation Soviet Union Ancient History United Kingdom Social justice Russia Self-Determination Interwar Period
All stars
Most Relevant
the author's Central thesis that world history should be seen as a conflict between networks and hierarchies was interesting and compelling. Ferguson does Justice to the idea that powerful Networks influence world events without falling into conspiracy theories.

readers should note that Ferguson's conservatism comes out in many parts of the book, but his Central thesis does not depend on a conservative worldview. I would recommend this book to anyone regardless of their political alignment.

the narration was excellent and I enjoyed listening.

interesting thesis with good narration

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This was a long look at the Networks and Hierarchies throughout time to modern day networks. Leftist Violence and Socialism have existed through networks and connection.

Networks and Power

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Clear and easy-to-listen-to narration by Elliot Hill, the time flew by as I listened to The Square and the Tower on #Audible1. Niall Ferguson demonstrates the significance and power of networks, and illustrates how networks played important roles throughout history. I downloaded this book with my first credit on Audible, after both Audible and the book were recommended by a friend, and I'm glad I did!

Highly engrossing!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Just what the doctor ordered. A fascinating subject well explained, profoundly researched, Deeply enjoyed it.

Engulfing

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Absolutely loved it. Great historical view overplayed with networking theory! Must read for everyone interested in politics and life

An amazing read

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I nearly gave up halfway through. I'm glad I didn't but I would not hesitate to skip the second quarter of the book unless your interest is largely historical fact accumulation. I guess Ferguson is an historian so it should be expected. For my purposes there was a fair amount of superfluous information beyond what was required to make the point stick.

Instructive but detailed

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.