The essays gathered in this volume contain analyses based on the general action perspective of Chicago sociology and, in particular, on the contributions of Anselm L. Strauss, whose lengthy achievement this volume honors.

In this compendium of related and cross-referential essays, David R. Maines draws from pragmatist/symbolic interactionist assumptions to formulate a consistent new view of the entire field of sociology. Suitable for courses in social theory, qualitative methods, social psychology, and narrative inquiry, this volume will change the way the general public looks at interpretive sociology.This book is organized as an expression of the centrality of interactionism to general sociology. Each cha...

"Hilarious and illuminating . . . Maine's storytelling is as human as it is divine, a sensitive overhaul of one of literature's greatest adventures." — Los Angeles Times Book ReviewIn this brilliant debut novel, Noah's family (or Noe as he's called here)—his wife, sons, and daughters-in-law—tell what it's like to live with a man touched by God, while struggling against events that cannot be controlled or explained. When Noe orders his sons...

From the internationally acclaimed author of The Preservationist comes a provocative retelling of the story of Eve and Adam, Abel and Cain---a novel of temptation and murder, of exile and loss.Once expelled from the Garden, Eve and Adam have to find their way past recriminations and bitterness to construct a new life together in a harsh land. But the challenges are many for the world's first family. Among their children are Cain and Abel, and soon the adults must discover h...

"This is the story of my life and it's not a happy one. If you wish to read about me you're welcome to but if you're looking for something to give you hope & joy comfort & inspiration then you had best leave off here straightaway and go find something else. My life has an abundance of frustration and pain plus a fair bit of sex and lots of killing and broken bones but it's got precious little hope & joy comfort & inspiration.It's got some women in it too plus a wife. Dalila is the o...

From the critically acclaimed author of The Preservationist and The Book of Samson, Monster, 1959 is an extraordinary tale of 1950s America---flawed, conflicted, and poised to enter the most culturally upended decade of the century.The United States government has been testing the long-term effects of high-level radiation on a few select islands in the South Pacific. Their efforts have produced killer plants, mole people, and a forty-foot creature named K....

A Boston psychiatrist must confront her own inner demons in a novel that "peels away the layers of what can be known and what can be admitted" (Stuart Archer Cohen, author of The Army of the Republic).Dr. Regina Moss is a dedicated healer with a reputation that inspires colleagues and patients alike. Yet Regina is haunted by her past. Her daughter barely speaks to her. And she can't stop thinking about the lanky new tech on the ward.Grief and trauma ...

Imprisoned by the Philistines, blind and chained, his hair shorn and his strength sapped, Samson's story is one of great feats of violence and even greater hubris. He believes that he has been sent by God to deliver his people from the heathens, and so strong is his conviction in his divine mission that his behaviour verges on the psychopathic. His delight in killing for God knows no bounds, and his Herculean speed and strength seems unstoppable, but then there's Dalila...In Samson...

"This is the story of my life and it's not a happy one. If you wish to read about me you're welcome to but if you're looking for something to give you hope & joy comfort & inspiration then you had best leave off here straightaway and go find something else. My life has an abundance of frustration and pain plus a fair bit of sex and lots of killing and broken bones but it's got precious little hope & joy comfort & inspiration.It's got some women in it too plus a wife. Dalila is the o...

In this brilliant debut novel, Noe's family - his wife, sons and daughters-in-law - tell what it's like to live with a man touched by God, while struggling against events that cannot be controlled or explained.For when Noe orders his sons to build an ark, he can't tell them where the wood will come from, just that God will provide. When he sends his daughter-in-law out to gather the animals, he can offer no directions, money, or protection. Just faith. But once the rain starts, the...

Very little communication takes place between most pastors/priests and their congregants regarding the weekly sermon/homily. This lack of constructive dialogue has resulted in Sunday messages that are not only out-of-touch with where parishioners are living, but for the most part what's said isn't remembered much beyond the church parking lot.Dr. Mains contends that people in the pew can best judge when a sermon is helpful to them and when it isn't. So why not include them in the p...

This reader shows the rich history and wide contemporary application of symbolic interaction theory.