Social Problems: A Down-to-Earth Approach

by James M. Henslin

This theoretically balanced text provides the latest research findings and a consistent structure to help students analyze major social problems facing the United States. The authors present both sides of an argument with a neutral voice and use a "down-to-earth" writing style.

When students complete this text, not only do they gain a sociological understanding of social problems, but also they are able to explore–and evaluate–their own opinions about specific social problems. They will gain a greater awareness of the social forces that shape their orientations to social problems and their perspectives on social life. The ideas in this book, then, can penetrate students’ thinking and give shape to their views of the world.

Genres: Nonfiction, Sociology, School, Reference

600 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1983

Reviews

[Deanna ✰ ☾ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this is one of my favorite books to date. Yes, it's a textbook, but it's extremely captivating! Henslin explores a good number of social problems, many of which I thought I was well-versed in. Reading this text brought a whole new meaning to them and provided me with so much new information.

The edition I read (11th ed.) was published in 2013 and thus is true to current events. One thing that attracted me to this textbook was the relevance of the issues it tackles; Henslin isn't going into detail about some faraway social problems - he's talking about things like the legalization of marijuana, censorship of hate speech, the performance of medically unnecessary practices, and the environmental crisis, including an especially scary section on food pollution. He reveals statistics that could definitely be considered contradictory in our current political climate, but he doesn't apologize for them - he analyzes them, unravels them, and explains what the future might hold if we continue on the same path.

I originally rented this book for the semester, but now I'm going to buy it. If you have an interest in sociology, current events, or cultural and political issues, you will eat this book up.

[Amber · Rating 1 out of 5]

this textbook is insane. it is incredibly dull and takes on issues at face-value. no in-depth information on any subjects whatsoever. completely ignores nuances and frequently splits ideas into black and white categories. 100% not at all adequate for a college course - it's written like it was intended for 9th graders, which is wild considering the subjects it covers would not be considered appropriate for high schoolers. asks ridiculous and not-at-all thought-provoking questions. example, verbatim: "do you think it should be legal to exchange photos of women being abused sexually or tortured? why or why not?" what the fuck? you someone to say yes to that? to try and defend it? moreover, the book is written in first person and the author frequently mentions themself. it feels very one-sided and pretentious. would not recommend any professor or teacher or anyone else to use this. unless they wanted to burn something.

[Vanessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this book for my Survey of Social Problems class. It was a very interesting read! Definitely a book to pick up if you enjoy discussing different viewpoints.

[Karie Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very obviously written from a set perspective, even though the author kept trying to emphasize how Sociologists aren't supposed to "take sides" on issues...

[Lisa Haycraft]

School starts ....

[Tasha Griffith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually really enjoyed this book, I learned a lot. The layout and writing was easy to understand. As far as text books go this book was really good.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good for an introduction to Sociology.

[Bestirolanyahoo.Com · Rating 5 out of 5]

i want to read this is because my teacher told us to read this inorder for us to know the social problems happens in one society