Book excerpt: This volume provides a new set of tools for creating and analysing theories. Computer-Assisted Theory Building re-orients the way many social scientists build and work with theories -- and it will prove of value to all practising social science theorists. Because verbal formulations are insufficiently specific and mathematical formulations often too restrictive, the author proposes a new formal language as a middle way, advocating computer simulation models to allow the formulation of more dynamic theories.