Joshua Derman is Assistant Professor of World History at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. He was a Max Weber Postdoctoral Fellow at the European University Institute in Florence, Italy, and has received fellowships from the German Academic Exchange Service and the Josephine de Karman Fellowship Trust.

• Introduction; 1. Max Weber and his circles; 2. Value freedom and polytheism; 3. The meaning of modern capitalism; 4. Skepticism and faith; 5. Max Weber's sociologies; 6. Charismatic rulership; Conclusion.

'Joshua Derman's wonderful new study … attempts something that (to my knowledge, at least) has not been attempted before. His book not only provides an overview of Weber's thought, concerns, and historical context but also tells the complicated story of how his fragmentary writings were posthumously turned into the 'collected works' … The strange story of the sea change undergone by 'charisma' is alone worth the price of admission to Derman's study. Like the rest of the book it leaves one with an enhanced understanding of the contingencies, misunderstandings, and institutional vagaries that Weber encountered on his posthumous road to canonization.' Dana Villa, Perspectives on Politics