We live in a world that is paradoxically both small and vast, each of us is embedded in local communities and yet we are only a few 'links' away from anyone else in the world.

This engaging book represents these interdependencies' positive and negative consequences, their multiple effects and the ways in which a local occurrence in one part of the world can directly affect the rest. Then it demonstrates precisely how these interactions and relationships form.

This is a book for the social network novice learning how to study, think about and analyse social networks, the intermediate user, not yet familiar with some of the newer developments in the field, and the teacher looking for a range of exercises, as well as an up-to-date historical account of the field.

It is divided into three clear sections:

1. Historical & Background Concepts
2. Levels of Analysis
3. Advances, Extensions and Conclusions

The book provides a full overview of the field - historical origins, common theoretical perspectives and frameworks, traditional and current analytical procedures and fundamental mathematical equations needed to get a foothold in the field.