Pick up the sociology textbook that helps you study, is easy to read, and has the study aids built right in. ESSENTIALS OF SOCIOLOGY takes real-world scenarios and shows you how to use sociology to analyze them. And with its updated international focus, you'll learn about other cultures while studying your own as well. ESSENTIALS OF SOCIOLOGY is more concise and with more examples than ever before, making class time more fun and test time less stressful.
 
About the Author

David Brinkerhoff is Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Professor of Sociology at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, where he has been since 1978, serving as Associate Vice Chancellor since 1991. Dr. Brinkerhoff has taught family and parent-child relationships, covering such topics as children's work in the family and the effect of economic marginality on the family. He also focuses on such issues as introducing technology in the classroom. He holds a Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Washington in Seattle, with B.S. and M.S. degrees from Brigham Young University.
Lynn White is Professor of Sociology at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, where she has been since 1974, having served as Chair of the Department of Sociology and Director of the Bureau of Sociological Research. She teaches social demography, family, and research methods. Her research has focused on relationships between parents and their adult children over the life course, covering such topics as the empty nest, co-residence, the link between marital quality and parenting experiences, and intergenerational exchange. Dr. White's current research on parent-child relationships in adult stepfamilies is funded by a grant from the National Institutes for Child Health and Human Development. Her work has appeared in AMERICAN SOCIOLOGICAL REVIEW and SOCIAL FORCES as well as in family journals. She holds a Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Washington in Seattle.
 
Suzanne Ortega was named Vice Provost for Advanced Studies and Dean of the Graduate School at the University of Missouri, Columbia in the fall of 2000. Previously she served as an Associate Dean in Graduate Studies and Professor of Sociology at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, teaching both introductory sociology and social problems. Dr. Ortega's interests are directed toward the social psychological consequences of inequality. She is currently working on a National Institute of Mental Health grant to examine rural-urban differences in help-seeking for depression and alcohol abuse. Other projects include a Center for Substance Abuse Treatment contract for a statewide assessment of substance abuse treatment needs and a Pew Charitable Trust Preparing Future Faculty grant. She holds a Ph.D. in sociology from Vanderbilt University.
Rose Weitz received her doctoral degree from Yale University in 1978. Since then, she has carved an exceptional record as both a scholar and a teacher. She is the author of numerous scholarly articles, the book LIFE WITH AIDS (Rutgers, 1991), and the book RAPUNZEL'S DAUGHTERS: WHAT WOMEN'S HAIR TELLS US ABOUT WOMEN'S LIVES (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2004). She is also co-author of LABOR PAINS: MODERN MIDWIVES AND HOME BIRTH (Yale University Press, 1988) and co-editor of THE POLITICS OF WOMEN'S BODIES: APPEARANCE, SEXUALITY, AND BEHAVIOR (published by Oxford University Press and now in its fourth edition). Professor Weitz has won two major teaching awards at Arizona State University, as well as the Pacific Sociological Associations' Distinguished Contributions to Teaching Award, and has been a finalist for other teaching awards numerous times.