Critical Review Guide

I am a professor teaching sociology in a distance learning university at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. I have found this textbook excellent for our introductory course in sociology at the undergraduate level. It is well organized and the concepts are well explained. The research is well used to inform the reading at that level. I like the internet exercises that can be used in a variety of ways and the chapter reviews as well as the summary of of key terms for the students . This is a 2000 edition so the current research in the family as a social institution on kinship and the kinship theoretical framework developed by Dr. Carolyn Billingsley in 2004, is not addressed. I look forward to reading of this landmark research and theoretical framework on the power of kinship in the settlement of the south addressed in the next edition. This research and theoretical framework legiitimizes genealogy as a field of enquiry in higher education. Her book, Communities of Kinship, Antebellum Families and the Settlement of the Cotton Frontier was published in 2004 by the University of Georgia Press, Athens.

This is an excellent and well-written college level introductory sociology textbook. It's about the study of people, human social life, socialization, class and inequality, gender and racial dynamics, family, ethnicity, the psychology of alienation, collective behavior, the impact of global economics upon people, and similar topics. It would be suitable for the advanced homeschooling student who is motivated to understand the world around us. Adult topics are handled sensitively, and complex issues are presented in a way that informs without overwhelming the reader. This is a great book, and manages to do a wonderful job of introducing many topics pertinent to the human race.

I had to use this book for my sociology class in college.It is a pretty good book that shows different aspects of societythrough 4 main sociological concepts. I will not be selling my copy back at the end of the semester for sure....