Norbert Elias (1897-1990) is now recognized as one of the most profound sociological thinkers of the twentieth century, but he gained international recognition only towards the end of his very long life. This volume, organized chronologically, shows how Elias's thought developed over time - from a focus on the development of society in Western Europe to an even more encompassing view of human history as a whole. In so doing, it makes available for the first time selections from the whole range of his oeuvre, showing both the development and the underlying consistency of his work, from his doctoral thesis in Philosophy at Breslau in 1922 through his years in Heidelberg and Frankfurt and his magnum opus The Civilizing Process to the publication of The Germans which was published posthumously in English in 1996.