Human Societies: An Introduction to Macrosociology

by Gerhard Lenski, Gerhard Lenski

"Human Societies" is written for today's students who are confronted by a rapidly changing world. It differs greatly from most texts for the introductory sociology course, being neither an eclectic, encyclopedia-like collection of materials nor a limited survey of contemporary American society. By introducing students to the broad range of human experience from the Stone Age to the present, it enables them to see their own world in a new light and a new perspective, and helps to prepare them for the many changes and challenges they will face in the years ahead. This classic text, currently in its 9th edition, is now available for the first time in an inexpensive paperback edition.

Genres: Sociology, Nonfiction

500 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2003

Reviews

[Kathryn]

This was the textbook for my undergraduate introductory sociology class.
For a textbook, it's pretty readable, and it is formatted more like a regular non-fiction book than a textbook. If one was looking to do independent study on sociology, I think this textbook would be a nice candidate for reading outside a class.
However, the later chapters are kinda Islamophobic and there's a weird paragraph that argues that climate change isn't caused by humans, and that left a bitter taste in my mouth.

[Megan]

One of my majors is Sociology, so I was hoping that this book would be fascinating. It wasn't. Though the subject matter was interesting enough, the book came off a little drab and unexciting, and has made me rethink my choice to double-major in Sociology. I did enjoy some aspects of the book, and found it to be interesting and knowledgeable in several aspects, but I the emotion I ended up feeling the most while reading this book was "bored". Unfortunately. I would like to see if I could read this outside of a school setting - I think I would possibly find this more interesting. I did like this book, and I still love and am fascinated by the subject, but it was still a little difficult to get through.