This first book in Castells' groundbreaking trilogy, with a substantial new preface, highlights the economic and social dynamics of the information age and shows how the network society has now fully risen on a global scale. The new preface demonstrates the network society has now fully risen on a global scale. It is a groundbreaking volume on the impact of the age of information on all aspects of society. It includes coverage of the influence of the internet and the net-economy. It describes the accelerating pace of innovation and social transformation. It is based on research in the USA, Asia, Latin America, and Europe.