Essentials of Sociology: A Down-to-Earth Approach

by James M. Henslin

Henslin's best-selling brief paperback text shares the excitement of sociology–its acclaimed “down-to-earth” approach and personal writing style highlight the sociology of everyday life and its relevance to students' lives. This text is a brief version of the highly regarded hardcover introductory text, A Down-to-Earth Approach, 7/e . The essential 15 chapters cover all of the topics in the 22-chapter text, and retain the dual emphases on micro and macro (individual and structural) sociology. James Henslin has a unique ability to engage students without talking down to them or sacrificing content. With wit, personal reflection, and illuminating examples, he shares with readers a passion for sociology unmatched by any other introductory text.

Genres: Sociology, Textbooks, Nonfiction, School, College, Education, Reference

560 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

Reviews

[Little Timmy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was the text book for my college course. good read and well laid out chapters made this a good book to learn from. Recommended

[S · Rating 4 out of 5]

Textbook for Intro to Sociology class. This isn't the first intro sociology textbook I've read. I didn't agree with everything in the book, and I remember noting some mistakes that probably don't matter to anyone but me. On the upside, I like the way the information was presented. I'm not a big psyc/socio person, but this book made me talk about sociology. Not in class, just randomly to friends and family. I think that says a lot about this book. I wouldn't read it for fun, but it gives a very thorough overview. 3.7* rounded up.

[Tiff · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was rather surprised how much I enjoyed this textbook and how much material was covered for an intro to sociology course. It was written in layman's terms which made it easy to understand and relatable. Glad my professor chose this book as the main text!

[Skai · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this for my Principles of Sociology class.

[Destiny Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this for my Sociology class and it was a good class! I enjoyed it a lot and I it’s nice having a break now because I can read!

[Adam · Rating 2 out of 5]

master status - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Master_...

sandwich generation - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandwic...

primary group (usually family)

Horatio Alger myth – the belief that anyone can get ahead if only he or she tries hard enough

"When husbands get laid off, most do less housework […] it threatens his masculinity"

"romantic love usually begins with sexual attraction. Finding ourselves sexually attracted to someone, we spend time with that person. I f we discover mutual interests, we may label our feelings “love.” Apparently, then, romantic love has two components. The first is emotional, a feeling of sexual attraction. The second is cognitive, a label that we attach to our feelings. If we attach this label, we describe ourselves as being 'in love.'"

[Reet · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this for my own interest, because I try to figure out how human beings got in the overpopulated, planet-destroying mess we're in. It was interesting and I learned quite a bit. Here's the thing, though. In the chapters concerning environment, overpopulation and the planet's ability to feed all these swollen rivers of humans, industry, etc., there's no mention of CAFOS, or food grown for and fed to "food" Animals, and how rain forests are being Pac-manned to grow these crops. Why? Oh, wait, we're not supposed to know about these things. That's right.

[Aly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had to use this textbook this semester for a college course. It does it's job but it's a textbook so, you know, it can get pretty boring. It wasn't hard to read and it did a really good job explaining things in a way that I could understand them. I enjoyed the examples and it made the textbook feel more personal when the author used "I" "me" and "my" within the text. It felt better knowing that the research was done by him rather than some things he saw looking around on the internet.

[Qiaoyun.Hu · Rating 5 out of 5]

关于社会学的一本精美有趣的入门书籍，结合生动的实例解释互动论、功能论、冲突论等理论知识，很喜欢。

[Vic Woeppel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read learned a lot about the subject

[Mohammed Barri · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this for my own interest.

[night birdie · Rating 3 out of 5]

honestly, started reading because i needed to for class. became a fun read when i realized it wasnt just an info dump. bought a copy in lieu of keeping it on the pdf version!

[Vee Gretzinger · Rating 4 out of 5]

i thought this book was very interesting. Yes, it's a textbook, and it was assigned reading. but, quite frankly, i enjoyed it very much. i enjoyed reading the authors personal accounts, and he simplified everything for better understanding. however, trying to read a college textbook, maintain a social life, and still be in high school, forced me to lower the score. #sorryimnotsorry

[Zeeshan · Rating 4 out of 5]

good.

[Internet · Rating 1 out of 5]

Terrible.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Henslin's personal accounts throughout the chapters helped to illustrate the basic sociological concepts and themes. Well written textbook that is easy to read.

[Christina · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was my sociology 100 text book. I don't remember much about it, but I also don't remember this class being abnormally hard.

[Romy Andrina]

m/

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was really informative when explaining sociology. It was easy to read and used examples to explain. Easy to follow and learn from it.

[Iris Nevers · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a textbook. It was okay at best.

[Emmanuel Nevers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating textbook