Global Complexity, John Urry, London: Polity, 2003 pp. xi, 172

In Global Complexity, John Urry provides at once relatively familiar discussions of globalization and complexity theory and a series of new insights for how complexity theory can be deployed to understand globalization. In fact Urry's discussion blends the analysis of globalization and complexity theory so thoroughly that he makes a convincing case that globalization is inexplicable without complexity theory. The book is long on big (well-conceived) ideas, description and anecdotal evidence and a bit short on specific applications and direction for proceeding with a complexity research agenda. Taken as a whole, Urry provides a compelling case for complexity and Global Complexity should be considered an important entry in both the globalization and complexity theory literatures.