Author Description

This text provides a balanced, thorough, and lively presentation of materials that capture student interest in their own society as well as others. The strong multicultural component of the book is developed through the extensive use of examples in every chapter, end-of-chapter inserts on Mexico and Japan, a set of boxed inserts, Ourselves and Others, effective use of maps, a CNN video connected to the book, and a reader of multicultural selections from the Washington Post. The authors carry the theme of modernization and social change throughout. Students will leave this text with a broad, multicultural, historical framework for making better sense out of their world, and an appreciation of the role of sociology in promoting an intelligent world view.