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. 1. Groundbreaking volume on the impact of the age of information on all aspects of society, 2. Includes coverage of the influence of the internet and the net-economy, 3. Describes the accelerating pace of innovation and social transformation, 4. Based on research in the USA, Asia, Latin America, and Europe.