Anthony Giddens is the most widely read and cited social theorist of his generation. Throughout his career, Giddens has written more than thirty books. Anthony Giddens was born in 1938 in Edmonton, North London. He completed his B.A. in Sociology and Psychology at the University of Hull, his M.A. at the London School of Economics, and his Ph.D. at the University of Cambridge. He lectured at the University of Leicester, before moving to King's College Cambridge, where he became Professor of Sociology at the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences. During this period, his first important publication is "Capitalism and Modern Social Theory" (1971). In 1976 he published "New Rules of Sociological Method", in 1979 "Central Problems in Social Theory", and in 1984 "The Constitution of Society".

From 1998 to 2003 he was Director of the London School of Economics, where today he remains as a Professor. His ideas have profoundly influenced the writing and teaching of sociology and social theory around the world. Among his 34 books are The Third Way: The Renewal of Social Democracy (1998), The Third Way and It's Critics (2000), and Runaway World: How Globalization is reshaping Our Lives (1999).

His impact upon politics has been particularly profound. He popularised the notion of the third way in political thinking, and his ideas have influenced social policies and political parties across the world. His advice has been sought by political leaders from Asia, Latin America and Australia, as well as from the US and Europe. He has had a major impact upon the evolution of New Labour in the UK and has been a consultant to the former British Prime Minister Tony Blair. He co-founded the academic publishing house Polity Press in 1985. He was the 1999 BBC Reith Lecturer. He was given a life peerage in June 2004, as Baron Giddens of Southgate.

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