Charisma and Patronage: Reasoning with Max Weber

A detailed and richly illustrated analysis of charisma and the political and cultural conditions in which charismatic figures arise, this work of historical sociology critically engages with Max Weber’s ambiguous concept of charisma to examine the charismatic careers of a number of figures, including Joan of Arc, Hitler and Nelson Mandela, as well as that of Jesus, who, the author contends - in contradistinction to Max Weber - was not a charismatic leader, in spite of his portrayal in Chris...