Publication year 2023
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Masculinity, Race, Community, Justice, Loyalty & Betrayal, Power & Greed
Tags Crime & Law, Horror & Suspense, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Journalism, Sociology, World History
Sociology
An expansive and fascinating field, sociology explores how human society develops and functions. Titles in this collection range from cultural studies classics like Orientalism by Edward Said and Gender Trouble by Judith Butler to recent Pulitzer Prize winner Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond.
Among the Bros
A More Beautiful and Terrible History
Amusing Ourselves to Death
Anarchy, State and Utopia
And Still We Rise
And The Band Played On
An Essay on the Principle of Population
Annihilation of Caste
A Paradise Built in Hell
A Path Appears
Are Prisons Obsolete?
Argonauts of the Western Pacific
A Secular Age
A Short History of Progress
As Nature Made Him
A Theory of Justice
Atlas of the Heart
Automating Inequality
A Voice from the South
A Whole New Mind
Publication year 2023
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Masculinity, Race, Community, Justice, Loyalty & Betrayal, Power & Greed
Tags Crime & Law, Horror & Suspense, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Journalism, Sociology, World History
Publication year 2018
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Justice, Politics & Government, Nation, Equality
Tags US History, Race & Racism, Politics & Government, Social Justice, Civil Rights & Jim Crow South, Gender & Feminism, Black Lives Matter, Sociology, World History
Publication year 1985
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Community, Education, Science & Technology, Politics & Government, Religion & Spirituality
Tags Sociology, Education, Science & Nature, World History, Psychology, Psychology, Philosophy, Arts & Culture, Politics & Government, Philosophy, Technology, Information Age, Education
Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business is a nonfiction book by Neil Postman, published in 1985. Postman was a professor of education and communication at New York University with a special interest in the role of technology and media in society. He earned a bachelor’s degree from the State University of New York in Fredonia and a master’s degree and doctorate from the Teachers College of Columbia University. In... Read Amusing Ourselves to Death Summary
Publication year 1974
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Economics, Social Class, Politics & Government, Community
Tags Philosophy, Politics & Government, Sociology, World History, Business & Economics, Philosophy
Publication year 2000
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Education
Tags Education, Education, Sociology, Inspirational, Biography, Religion & Spirituality
And Still We Rise: The Trials and Triumphs of Twelve Gifted Inner-City High School Students is a 2000 nonfiction work by Miles Corwin, the Los Angeles Times reporter best known for The Killing Season. In this book, Corwin chronicles a school year spent with 12 senior students in the gifted program in a South-Central Los Angeles high school. The students face many difficulties and must display perseverance to remain in this magnet program. Corwin was... Read And Still We Rise Summary
Publication year 1987
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Community
Tags Health, Science & Nature, Sociology, World History, LGBTQ+, Politics & Government
And The Band Played On: Politics, People, and the AIDS Epidemic is a work of investigative reporting by Randy Shilts, a reporter with the San Francisco Chronicle. Shilts covered the AIDS epidemic from 1982 for the only newspaper willing to give its full attention to the epidemic. Shilts examines the roots of AIDS beginning in 1976 to two events and focuses on the mysterious illness of a Danish physician working in Africa, Dr. Grethe Rask. Before... Read And The Band Played On Summary
Publication year 1798
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Economics
Tags Business & Economics, Philosophy, Sociology, Age of Enlightenment, Poverty, Food, Science & Nature, Social Class, European History, World History, Philosophy, Classic Fiction, Politics & Government
An Essay on the Principle of Population by Thomas Malthus was first published anonymously in 1798. Its core argument, that human population will inevitably outgrow its capacity to produce food, widely influenced the field of early 19th century economics and social science. Immediately after its first printing, Malthus’s essay garnered significant attention from his contemporaries, and he soon felt the need to reveal his identity. Although it was highly controversial, An Essay on the Principle... Read An Essay on the Principle of Population Summary
Publication year 1936
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Religion & Spirituality, Equality, Social Class, Community
Tags Philosophy, Politics & Government, Social Justice, Asian Literature, Sociology, World History, Philosophy, Indian Literature, Classic Fiction, Religion & Spirituality
Publication year 2009
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Trust & Doubt, Environment
Tags Sociology, Anthropology, Anthropology, World History, Psychology, Psychology, Philosophy, Philosophy, Social Justice, Politics & Government
Rebecca Solnit’s A Paradise Built in Hell: The Extraordinary Communities That Arise in Disaster is a 2009 non-fiction book that examines the behavior of people amid and after disasters as well as the institutional failure that can worsen disasters. Solnit explores five major disasters and detours to discuss several others while providing commentary on contemporary Western culture, anarchism, and the media’s portrayal of disaster victims.Solnit and the many sociologists she cites present an optimistic view... Read A Paradise Built in Hell Summary
Publication year 2014
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Tags Chinese Literature, Asian Literature, Sociology, Social Justice, Gender & Feminism, Business & Economics, Inspirational, Philosophy, Philosophy, Self-Improvement, Politics & Government
A Path Appears: Transforming Lives, Creating Opportunity is a nonfiction book published in 2014 by the husband-and-wife team of Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. The book speaks to altruism and how people can do something to promote more opportunities for others around the world. The authors declare, “We wrote this book mostly to encourage others—rich and poor alike—to join in this push to improve the world” (16). They promote three ways of doing so:... Read A Path Appears Summary
Publication year 2003
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Social Class, Community, Globalization, Economics, Education, Politics & Government, Justice, Equality, Literature, Power & Greed
Tags Politics & Government, Race & Racism, Social Justice, US History, Sociology, Gender & Feminism, World History, Philosophy, Philosophy
Publication year 1922
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Community
Tags Anthropology, Education, Education, Anthropology, Science & Nature, Social Science, Business & Economics, Sociology, World History, Arts & Culture
Argonauts of the Western Pacific: An Account of Native Enterprise and Adventure in the Archipelagoes of Melanesian New Guinea (1922) is an ethnological monograph by Bronislaw Malinowski, a leading anthropologist of his time. It concerns his research in what was then called “Melanesian New Guinea,” which is today known as the Kiriwana island chain, northeast of New Guinea. The work focuses on the trade, magic, and cultural traditions of the Trobriand people on the archipelago... Read Argonauts of the Western Pacific Summary
Publication year 2007
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes The Past, Self Discovery, Religion & Spirituality
Tags Philosophy, Religion & Spirituality, Politics & Government, Sociology, Arts & Culture, World History, Philosophy
Publication year 2004
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Community, Environment
Tags Sociology, Anthropology, Anthropology, Science & Nature, Business & Economics, World History, Philosophy, Philosophy, Politics & Government
This study guide refers to the 2004 House of Anansi edition of Ronald Wright’s A Short History of Progress. The book is a printed version of five Massey Lectures that Wright delivered in Canada in 2004. Wright is a Canadian author of historical fiction and non-fiction with a background in archaeology, anthropology, and linguistics. This lecture series uses Wright’s unique set of skills as a storyteller and student of history to provide a sweeping and... Read A Short History of Progress Summary
Publication year 2000
Genre Biography, Nonfiction
Themes Nature Versus Nurture, Trust & Doubt
Tags Health, Gender & Feminism, Science & Nature, Sociology, Psychology, Psychology, LGBTQ+, Biography
John Colapinto’s 1999 book As Nature Made Him is an expansion of his award-winning 1997 Rolling Stone article on the medical scandal surrounding David Reimer. David, raised as Brenda under the auspices of famous sexologist and child psychiatrist Dr. John Money, transitions back to a male gender identity during his teenage years. After Dr. Milton Diamond reveals the failure of Money’s theory of gender neutrality at birth, David’s story raises serious questions in the medical... Read As Nature Made Him Summary
Publication year 1971
Genre Reference/Text Book, Nonfiction
Themes Good & Evil
Tags Philosophy, Education, Education, Business & Economics, Sociology, Philosophy, Classic Fiction, Politics & Government
American philosopher John Rawls (1921-2002) published A Theory of Justice in 1971, and the work has become a foundational text in 20th-century political philosophy. A Theory of Justice argues in support of Rawls’s theory of justice-as-fairness, which is based on basic equal rights, equal opportunity, and helping those least advantaged in society. This approach, based on morality and ethics, is presented as an alternative to the theory of utilitarianism, in which the ends justify the... Read A Theory of Justice Summary
Publication year 2021
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Guilt, Shame & Pride
Tags Self-Improvement, Psychology, Relationships, Inspirational, Sociology, Leadership, Psychology, Mental Illness, Health, Religion & Spirituality
Publication year 2018
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Economics, Justice, Social Class, Politics & Government, Equality, Race
Tags Technology, Politics & Government, Sociology, Science & Nature, Social Justice, Race & Racism, Poverty, Social Class, US History, Technology, Business & Economics, World History
Publication year 1892
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Femininity, Race, Social Class, Education, Nation, Politics & Government, Equality, Justice
Tags Race & Racism, African American Literature, Gender & Feminism, US History, Sociology, World History, Social Justice, Classic Fiction, Politics & Government
Publication year 2004
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Tags Sociology, Education, Education, Science & Nature, Business & Economics, Psychology, Psychology, Self-Improvement, Arts & Culture
Daniel H. Pink’s A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future, released in 2005, considers and challenges society’s history of valuing left-brained attributes over creative and empathic right-brained thinkers. Pink, an author of several books on business and human behavior, argues that the age of left-brain supremacy is over, making way for whole-minded thinkers who will define and thrive within the coming Conceptual Age. Pink offers six essential whole-minded aptitudes that are key... Read A Whole New Mind Summary