Description: Metamorphoses of the City is a sweeping interpretation of Europe's ambition to generate ever better forms of collective self-government, from ancient city-states and empires to a universal church and the nation-state. But the nation-state is nearing the end of its line, Pierre Manent says, and what will supplant it remains to be seen.
Brief description: Pierre Manent is Director of Studies at L'École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales, Paris.
Review Quotes: The culmination of thirty years of reflection on modern politics, Metamorphoses of the City is Pierre Manent's Summa. By tracing the transformation of Western political form from the Greek city-state to the nation state, then to our increasingly post-national world, he raises profound questions about the future of self-government. A beautifully conceived and deeply unsettling book.--Mark Lilla, Columbia University