Taking it Big: C. Wright Mills and the Making of Political Intellectuals [Hardcover]

This is the major work on Mills whose relevance, not only to the study of political dynamics, to radical social change and social equity might otherwise be under valued today, just when it is most needed, if not interpreted by another author deeply in touch in recent decades with in the dynamics of time and socio-economic change in the struggle for the American economy and soul. Mills was a hybrid, a bridge and a break across traditions. As such a deep understanding of his contributions which were much in advance of his time requires a broad read across different bodies of philosphical and social science literature and that includes at key point going beyond some insights of Marx to capture today's newly emplaced power ellites as they are situated in a changing world. While Mills' best known work probably is The Power Elite, even that work might appear static unless updated in the totality of Mill's concerns and understood as part of a more complex project that is best elucidated over specitfic periods of time. Aronowitz himself is a major theorist on class, socio-political dynamics, labor struggles and activism etc is perhaps the best positioned person in America to understand and interpret Mills, especilly as Aronowitz has written a great deal on social change and the dynamics of various aspects of economy and laabor in the modern and his intepretation of Mills brings the trajectory of the work into the immediately relevant present political struggle in America Also by reading across Mill's works at various points in time, Aronowitz heightens our awareness of Mill's relevance basically relevance which is anything is augmented at the present moment, as facilitated by Aronowitz's reading of Mills. Aronowitz adds the history and dynamics of the American labor movement, shift in the landscape of social class and occupation, and the new roles of the power elites and
as such his works sheds light on growing and shifting tensions between elites and older, previously more powerful groups, especially as related to changes in types of occupations as they connect with more elites and are homogenized within or struggle against a growing plutocracy. Aronowitz knowledeable and authoritative shows us how to read Mills in a dynamic perspective across time. It is an especially pertinant reads as against the dynamics of the 2012 election! There are few in America that can better come to terms with the social, political and social tensions presenting themselves in America's post-industrial era than the duo on Aronowitz on Mills. In addition to notable scholarship the book brings a fresh and authoritative perspective on that which many of us are beginning to see, almost at the last minute. Also like all Aronowitz's writing the book is immensely readable and beyond couragous as it is the writing of an activist of premier caliber.

Taking It Big surely is the best analysis of the development of Mills' sociology that is available. It is a must read for anyone interested in appreciating what needs to be done to provide for the continued viability of the discipline. Aronowitz's vast reservoir of knowledge is very evident. Who else but Stanley Aronowitz can make intelligent and useful reference to forgotten scholars such as Siegfried Bernfeld?