Essentials of Sociology

Join the conversation with one of sociology s best-known thinkers.

Essentials of Sociology, Second Edition adapted from George Ritzer s Introduction to Sociology, Third 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 phenomena: 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.