I. Career and Personal Orientation

PART ONE GERMAN SOCIETY AND THE PROTESTANT ETHIC
II. Weber's Early Studies and the Definition of His Intellectual Perspective
III. Aspects of Economic Rationality in the West

PART TWO SOCIETY, RELIGION, AND SECULAR ETHIC: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF CIVILIZATIONS
IV. Introduction
V. Society and Religion in China
VI. Society and Religion in India
VII. Society and Religion in Ancient Palestine
VIII. Max Weber's Sociology of Religion

PART THREE DOMINATION, ORGANIZATION, AND LEGITIMACY: MAX WEBER'S POLITICAL SOCIOLOGY
IX. Basic Concepts of Political Sociology
X. Charismatic Leadership and Domination
XI. Traditional Domination
XII. Legal Domination: The Emergence of Legal Rationality
XIII. Legal Domination (continued): The Modern Sate and Struggle for Power
XIV. A Contemporary Perspective
XV. Max Weber's Image of Society

Index

“Our debt to Reinhard Bendix is great. [Max Weber provides] a consistent and wholly satisfactory picture of the sequence of Weber’s ideas and the development of a great intellect. . . . Its publication makes plain—even for those familiar with his writings—the enduring value of Weber’s sociological thinking.”—The Listener

"Where others have restricted themselves to brief interpretations of analyses of specific aspects of Weber's work, Bendix has attempted the full scale study that has long been needed. As such, it unquestionably fulfills the minimum requirements. It is admirably clear, well organized, inclusive, and based on long and conscientious research. For the student who wants an introductory guide to Weber, it will be a godsend, providing as it does the over all structure that the theoretician himself did not live to complete....Bendix's book proves not to be an 'intellectual portrait' at all: its subtitle is a misnomer. It is rather an expert and extremely useful key to his work. A really exciting and original book on Weber."—American Historical Review

"Reinhard Bendix's work is the most complete introduction to Weber's thinking available in English...Bendix devotes most of his book to an exposition of Weber's substantive writings, omitting only a few studies. . . . Bendix is as fair and accurate in his exposition of Weber's work as one can ever expect, and he leads us with a keen sense for the essentials through Weber's voluminous scholarship."—Political Science Quarterly

"Bendix has set out an admirably straightforward exposition of the whole body of Weber's scholarly work."—American Anthropologist

"Anyone who is aware of the scope and intricacy of Weber's work will recognize the magnitude of the task that Professor Bendix took upon himself and applaud the manner in which he has accomplished it."—New Statesman