Essentials of Sociology

by George Ritzer

Essentials of Sociology , adapted from George Ritzer’s Introduction to Sociology , Second Edition, provides the same rock-solid foundation in a shorter and more streamlined format. Like the original Ritzer text, Essentials of Sociology illuminates traditional sociological concepts and theories, and focuses on some of the most compelling contemporary social globalization, consumer culture, the Internet, and the "McDonaldization" of society. As technology flattens the globe, students are challenged to apply a sociological perspective to their world, and to see how "public" sociologists are engaging with the critical issues of today.

568 pages, Paperback

First published January 7, 2014

About the author

George Ritzer is Distinguished University Professor at the University of Maryland. He has named at Distinguished-Scholar Teacher at Maryland and received the American Sociological Association’s Distinguished Contribution to Teaching Award. Among his academic awards are an Honorary Doctorate from La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia; Honorary Patron, University Philosophical Society, Trinity College, Dublin; and the 2012-2013 Robin William Lectureship from the Eastern Sociological Society. He has chaired four Sections of the American Sociological Association- Theoretical Sociology, Organizations and Occupations, first Chair of Global and Transnational Sociology, and the History of Sociology.
His books have been translated into over twenty languages, with over a dozen translations of The McDonaldization of Society alone.

Reviews

[Hew La France · Rating 1 out of 5]

Boy, do I love these college text books. I'm so glad I can go to college and learn how to think for myself. And by 'think for myself', I mean, 'think like the most leftest liberal ever'. Because that is all this book portrays; the left side of every issue. The couple of times it did mention the right, the author, George Ritzer, wrote in such a way that implied the 'wrongness' of that viewpoint. My absolute favorite excerpt is from Chapter 8, pg 185, which reads, "Demonstrations and riots occurred in Ferguson, Missouri, in 2014 as a result of the killing of an unarmed young black man by a white police officer, who had assumed that the young man was dangerous." How convenient to leave out the part where the 'unarmed young black man' had bull-rushed the cop, fracturing his skull, and attempted to rip the gun out of the holster for himself to use. 'Assumed he was dangerous'? To anyone who actually bothered to read all of the court documents and transcripts, it's pretty obvious he WAS dangerous. There were other cases between THAT one and when the book was published which the author's statement was actually applicable to. To choose the one that, when you actually study the case, it doesn't, is just blatant laziness on George Ritzer's part.

[lumpslumps · Rating 3 out of 5]

god i am so happy for this to be over

[T.B. Caine · Rating 2 out of 5]

this book might have the WORST index I have ever seen in a textbook. Usually indexes are great places to find more information about where specific terms are mention. Not in this one. It is completely random whether something will get a mention in the index, and not even multiple paragraphs about a person/topic decides whether they get a index mention. Topic that got one sentence got slid into the index, while important concepts that got entire sections dedicated to them did not get an index. So good luck finding ANYTHING if you did not tab or take intensely detailed notes about it.