Best Selling Books by George Steinmetz

A new history of French social thought that connects postwar sociology to colonialism and empire In this provocative and original retelling of the history of French social thought, George Steinmetz places the history and development of modern French sociology in the context of the French empire after World War II. Connecting the rise of all the social sciences with efforts by France and other imperial powers to consolidate control over their crisis-ridden colonies, Steinmetz argues that colonial research represented a crucial core of the renascent academic discipline of sociology, especially between the late 1930s and the 1960s. Sociologists, who became favored partners of colonial governments, were asked to apply their expertise to such “social problems” as detribalization, urbanization, poverty, and labor migration. This colonial orientation permeated all the major subfields of sociological research, Steinmetz contends, and is at the center of the work of four influential scholars: Raymond Aron, Jacques Berque, Georges Balandier, and Pierre Bourdieu. In retelling this history, Steinmetz develops and deploys a new methodological approach that combines attention to broadly contextual factors, dynamics within the intellectual development of the social sciences and sociology in particular, and close readings of sociological texts. He moves gradually toward the postwar sociologists of colonialism and their writings, beginning with the most macroscopic contexts, which included the postwar “reoccupation” of the French empire and the turn to developmentalist policies and the resulting demand for new forms of social scientific expertise. After exploring the colonial engagement of researchers in sociology and neighboring fields before and after 1945, he turns to detailed examinations of the work of Aron, who created a sociology of empires; Berque, the leading historical sociologist of North Africa; Balandier, the founder of French Africanist sociology; and Bourdieu, whose renowned theoretical concepts were forged in war-torn, late-colonial Algeria.

Germany’s overseas colonial empire was relatively short lived, lasting from 1884 to 1918. During this period, dramatically different policies were enacted in the colonies: in Southwest Africa, German troops carried out a brutal slaughter of the Herero people; in Samoa, authorities pursued a paternalistic defense of native culture; in Qingdao, China, policy veered between harsh racism and cultural exchange. Why did the same colonizing power act in such differing ways? In The Devil’s Handwriting, George Steinmetz tackles this question through a brilliant cross-cultural analysis of German colonialism, leading to a new conceptualization of the colonial state and postcolonial theory. Steinmetz uncovers the roots of colonial behavior in precolonial European ethnographies, where the Hereros were portrayed as cruel and inhuman, the Samoans were idealized as “noble savages,” and depictions of Chinese culture were mixed. The effects of status competition among colonial officials, colonizers’ identification with their subjects, and the different strategies of cooperation and resistance offered by the colonized are also scrutinized in this deeply nuanced and ambitious comparative history.

Collection of new essays on the past, present, and future of positivism in the various social sciences

The National Geographic photographer captures the extraordinary diversity of Africa''s landscapes, from dense urban centers to tiny, remote villages, from harsh deserts to dense forests, in nearly two hundred full-color aerial photographs that offer panoramic views of more than fourteen different countries throughout the African continent.

"George Steinmetz''s photo book, New York Air: The View From Above, presents an unparalleled visual feast of this well-known metropolis. Every photo offers a new perspective and a level of detail that turns familiar places into never-seen-before spectacles." — TIME Shooting in all seasons and from dawn to dusk, George Steinmetz captures the thrilling complexity and romance of 21st-century New York, with its skyline and waterfront landscape, dazzling contemporary architecture and historic buildings—along with parks and streets and rooftops used for every possible purpose, and the massive infrastructure that keeps it all going. Included are such iconic places as Central Park and Times Square, landmarks such as the High Line and the September 11 Memorial, One World Trade Center and other additions to the exclusive list of the world''s tallest buildings, and intriguing sites throughout the five boroughs. Steinmetz records some of the city''s beloved traditions—such as the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree, the New York marathon, and the U.S. Open—but what makes his photographs special is their surprising intimacy, as they capture New Yorkers going about their lives in their remarkable city. "[Steinmetz] sees the city''s landmarks with new eyes, presenting a feast of unexpected color and geometry in 120 photographs that test your powers of recognition." — New York Times

Why does the welfare state develop so unevenly across countries, regions, and localities? What accounts for the exclusions and disciplinary features of social programs? How are elite and popular conceptions of social reality related to welfare policies? George Steinmetz approaches these and other issues by exploring the complex origins and development of local and national social policies in nineteenth-century Germany. Generally regarded as the birthplace of the modern welfare state, Germany experimented with a wide variety of social programs before 1914, including the national social insurance legislation of the 1880s, the "Elberfeld" system of poor relief, protocorporatist policies, and modern forms of social work. Imperial Germany offers a particularly useful context in which to compare different programs at various levels of government. Looking at changes in welfare policy over the course of the nineteenth century, differences between state and municipal interventions, and intercity variations in policy, Steinmetz develops an account that focuses on the specific constraints on local and national policymakers and the different ways of imagining the "social question." Whereas certain aspects of the pre-1914 welfare state reinforced social divisions and even foreshadowed aspects of the Nazi regime, other dimensions actually helped to relieve sickness, poverty, and unemployment. Steinmetz explores the conditions that led to both the positive and the objectionable features of social policy. The explanation draws on statist, Marxist, and social democratic perspectives and on theories of gender and culture.

This iconic National Geographic photography collection of the world''s most majestic nature landscapes presents the exquisiteness of the great outdoors and showcases evocative and extraordinary images, often unseen. With vast deserts in twilight, snowcapped mountain ranges at the brink of dawn, a forest in the height of autumn colors, these indelible images will magnify the beauty, emotion, and depth that can be captured in the split second of a camera flash, taking readers on a spectacular visual journey and offering an elegant conduit to the world around them. Paired with illuminating insights from celebrated photographers, this beautiful book weaves a vibrant tapestry of images that readers will turn to again and again.

A dynamic aerial exploration of our changing planet, published on the 50th anniversary of Earth Day The Human Planet is a sweeping visual chronicle of the Earth today from a photographer who has circled the globe to report on such urgent issues as climate change, sustainable agriculture, and the ever-expanding human footprint. George Steinmetz is at home on every continent, documenting both untrammeled nature and the human project that relentlessly redesigns the planet in its quest to build shelter, grow food, generate energy, and create beauty through art and architecture. In his images, accompanied by authoritative text by renowned science writer Andrew Revkin, we are encountering the dramatic and perplexing new face of our ancient home.

Die Welt, in der wir leben, ist geprägt von den Spuren moderner kolonialer Imperien. Welchen Einfluss hat diese Prägung auf die Sozialwissenschaften und auf die postmoderne Soziologie? Für die neu entstehende Disziplin war die Kolonialforschung einst von entscheidender Bedeutung. Ab den 1930er Jahren waren Soziologen und Soziologinnen gefragt, ihr Fachwissen auf soziale Themen wie »Detribalisierung«, Urbanisierung, Armut und Arbeitsmigration anzuwenden. Diese koloniale Orientierung durchdrang alle wichtigen Teilbereiche der Forschung. Gerade in Zeiten der Dekolonisierung war die koloniale Soziologie Avantgarde ihres Fachs, vor allem in imperialen Ländern wie Großbritannien und den Niederlanden, besonders aber in Frankreich. Dort forschten mehr als die Hälfte der Soziologen und Soziologinnen zu kolonialen Themen, sowohl in den Kolonien als auch in den Metropolen; unter ihnen waren nicht nur Apologeten, sondern auch scharfe Kritiker des Imperialismus. Zahlreiche Institutionen entstanden, Universitäten, Forschungsinstitute, Regierungsorganisationen und Museen, die sich der Forschung über Imperien widmeten. Diese fundierte Studie präsentiert überraschende Einsichten und zeigt eindrücklich, dass das ambivalente Erbe der Kolonialsoziologie enormen Einfluss auf das sozialwissenschaftliche Denken der Gegenwart hat.

"Hyper Arid is the first comprehensive photographic book on all of the world''s extreme deserts (defined for the purposes of this book as those that receive no more than 4 inches of precipitation per year), the most remote and inhospitable places on earth. It is also a visual adventure story by one of the world''s top expedition photographers who has spent the last 15 years on this epic body of work. The stunning and surreally beautiful photographs are enriched with stories from his adventures in the world''s most difficult places: smuggling his aircraft into Libya, getting arrested for spying in Iran, crashing into a tree in Western China, and into the ocean off the coast of Mexico. The book is a comprehensive exploration of virtually every dune field and patch of barren ground that add up to the last great class of wilderness left on our planet. To visualize these remote places in a unique way, Steinmetz learned how to fly the world''s lightest and slowest aircraft, a motorized paraglider. This experimental foot-launched aircraft consists of a backpack motor and a parachute-style wing that lets him fly low, and slow, to take pictures of places that have never been seen before. Together, these extraordinary places are like a disparate family of co-evolved landscapes, each similar, but uniquely beautiful"--Provided by publisher.

This title features striking, unique aerial photography of the one of the largest--and harshest--sand deserts in the world: the Rubʻ al-Khali in the heart of the Arabian Desert.

Fielding Transnationalism is a work in progress and one that we hope will be sustained in the future. Together the papers in this volume show the strengths of field theory for apprehending transnational processes and relations, even as they also raise questions for future work. In the spirit of Bourdieu''s own work, the papers are grounded in fine-grained empirical research, and the empirical range is wide. Some speak to institutions that are or could be central to discussions of the transnational in political science - such as the European Central Bank (Mudge and Vauchez), the US government (Stampnitzky), and the British and the German empire (Wilson; Steinmetz). Others show their sociological heritage by also paying attention to cultural production (Buchholz), to academic disciplines (Steinmetz; Krause), and to journalism (Christin). Empirically, of course, there are many further areas of inquiry that could benefit from a field analysis. We could learn from a wide range of historical and contemporary cases. These papers offer a starting point.