Examines the concept of an assemblage of heterogeneous components Gilles Deleuze considered his concept of "assemblage" to be one of his most important contributions to philosophy. Yet he never developed it consistently and systematically, whether in his own books or those co-authored with F lix Guattari.

In this book Manuel DeLanda provides the first detailed overview of the assemblage theory found in germ in Deleuze and Guattari's writings. Through a series of case studies, DeLanda shows how the concept can be applied to economic, linguistic, and military history as well as to metaphysics, science, and mathematics.

DeLanda then presents the real power of assemblage theory by advancing it beyond its original formulation. This allows for the integration of communities, institutional organizations, cities, and urban regions, while challenging Marxist orthodoxy with a Leftist politics of assemblages.