This book is written at a level accessible to everyone and concentrates upon gaining the interest of the reader. The author, a sociologist of international repute, has brought his experience to bear upon producing an innovative text. All the conventional areas of sociology are covered, but the author gives special attention to the new developments in the subject which have occurred during the late 1970s and 1980s. Notable features of the book are a stress upon the recovery of a historical perspective in sociology, emphasis upon the significance of global developments in social life, and systematic discussion of areas of analysis usually absent from textbooks in the subject, such as military power and war, or communications and the mass media. The book also strongly emphasizes a comparative perspective. `Sociology" is thoroughly up-to-date in terms of exhaustive references to current empirical materials. It is suitable for all A level students, first-year college FE students and undergraduates looking for an accessible, well-researched and up-to-date text, written with style and flair.