`A truly bizarre and sometimes filthy historical canter through abatoirs, satyriasis and Noel Edmonds' House Party , among other things, towards a theory of organisation' - The Times 'The author pursues a vigorous polemic on organisational development' - Financial Times In this irreverent and inventive book, Gibson Burrell seeks to circumvent the established frameworks which have defined our understanding of organization and organizations. He brings us tales from under the edge which enmire us in the nether side of modernist organization. By looking backwards deep into the history of Western societies, and sideways across the broad domain of social and cult