The World's Best Book Summaries
Who really has the power in the United States? How did they get it? In The Power Elite, C. Wright Mills claims that the United States is controlled by a small group of powerful economic, military, and political elites. Writing in 1956, he suggests that the decisions, failures, and successes of the power elite are what truly determine the course of the country. Keep reading for an overview of this illuminating book.
What’s the “executive class”? How did corporations in the United States get so powerful? In The Power Elite, C. Wright Mills discusses how influential institutions came to control a majority of wealth and power in America. Corporations are one of the three main institutions where Mills believes the power elite developed. Mills explores the process by which their influence solidified over the years. Read more to learn about the subtle rise of the corporate elite in America.
When civil service in America expanded, how did power shift? What resulted from the reforms to the patronage system? C. Wright Mills argues that federal bureaucratic agencies in the U.S. have slowly gained more and more power than elected officials at every level—officials who are far more accountable to the American people. An important step in this process was growing the size and scope of bureaucracy over time. Keep reading for a brief history of civil service that exposes one of the ways the nation’s elites centralized power.
What significant transformation did America’s military undergo in the 20th century? How does that transformation affect society as a whole? Sociologist C. Wright Mills exposes how the power elite came to control a majority of wealth and influence in America. The military is one of the institutions in which power has been centralized. Mills asserts that this happened in a subtle process over several years. Read more to learn how the military elite became one-third of America’s power structure.
What can we learn from real-life struggle stories? How do people rise from unbearable conditions to live a successful, happy life? Life throws curveballs all the time, and sometimes you might feel like giving up. But it’s reassuring to know that other people have risen from their own unique challenges. Let’s look at six real-life struggle stories that detail extraordinary people at their most vulnerable, all the way to their moments of success.
Who has more power in America—elected or unelected officials? Are civil service jobs provided based on merit? Sociologist C. Wright Mills claims that the power elites are in charge in America. He explains that these “influencers” are unaccountable to the people, can exercise their power broadly, and have exploited many national institutions for their own benefit. Many of these elites are in civilian government. Keep reading for Mills’s exposé of America’s government elite.
How did Richard Feynman feel when Einstein attended one of his lectures? Why did an army general recruit Feynman when he was working on his doctorate? In his memoir Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman!, Richard Feynman recounts his years in school at MIT and Princeton, comparing and contrasting the two environments. He also explains how WWII shaped the start of his career. Keep reading to learn about Richard Feynman’s education.
What was Richard Feynman’s contribution to the Manhattan Project? How did he look back on the experience? In the early 1940s, Richard Feynman was working on his doctorate at Princeton. An army general arrived on campus to recruit physicists. Feynman signed up, having no idea how his decision would change his life and put him at the center of a project that would change the world. Read more to learn about Richard Feynman, the Manhattan Project, and the dawning of a new era.
How did the role of American intellectuals change after World War II? What impact has this had on political power? In The Power Elite, American sociologist C. Wright Mills argues that, traditionally, intellectuals in America helped Americans understand what was going on in their society, how it affected their lives, and what they could do about it. However, he claims that this changed after World War II. Keep reading to learn how liberal intellectuals contribute to the influence of the power elite in America.
What tactics do conservative intellectuals use to combat their ideological opponents? What’s their relationship with America’s power elite? C. Wright Mills suggests that the majority of American intellectuals fail to acknowledge, question, or challenge the rule of the power elite. This has taken power away from the American people by depriving them of their ability to understand what’s going on in government. Let’s take a look at what Mills has to say about conservative intellectuals in particular.