A general and systematic account of the role of knowledge in society aimed to stimulate both critical discussion and empirical investigations.This book is concerned with the sociology of ‘everything that passes for knowledge in society’. It focuses particularly on that ‘common-sense knowledge’ which constitutes the reality of everyday life for the ordinary member of society.The authors are concerned to present an analysis of knowledge in everyday life in the context of a th...

A watershed event in the field of sociology, this text introduced "a major breakthrough in the sociology of knowledge and sociological theory generally" (George Simpson, American Sociological Review ).In this seminal book, Peter L. Berger and Thomas Luckmann examine how knowledge forms and how it is preserved and altered within a society. Unlike earlier theorists and philosophers, Berger and Luckmann go beyond intellectual history and focu...

The Invisible Religion is a modern classic of social science. Its influence goes well beyond sociology as it continues to inspire research in such diverse fields as sociology of knowledge, ethnology, theology, sociology of religion, and religious studies. In this volume, the author endeavours to answer one of the most important questions regarding religion in modern times: Are Western societies indeed becoming more secular as they modernize? His surprising answer is still part of ...

The most popularly read, adapted, anthologized, and incorporated primer on sociology ever written for modern readersAcclaimed scholar and sociologist Peter L. Berger lays the groundwork for a clear understanding of sociology in his straightforward introduction to the field, much loved by students, professors, and general readers. Berger aligns sociology in the humanist tradition—revealing its relationship to the humanities and philosophy—and establishes its importa...

"Does for the Civil War period what Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States did for the study of American history in general." — Library JournalHistorian David Williams has written the first account of the American Civil War as viewed though the eyes of ordinary people—foot soldiers, slaves, women, prisoners of war, draft resisters, Native Americans, and others. Richly illustrated with little-known anecdotes and firsthand testimony, ...

The thrilling true story of the daring double agents who thwarted Hitler's spy machine in Britain and turned the tide of World War II.After the fall of France in the mid-1940s, Adolf Hitler faced a British Empire that refused to negotiate for peace. With total war looming, he ordered the Abwehr, Germany's defense and intelligence organization, to carry out Operation Lena—a program to place information-gathering spies within Britain.Quickly, a network of secr...

"If you liked Chaos, you'll love Complexity. Waldrop creates the most exciting intellectual adventure story of the year" ( The Washington Post).In a rarified world of scientific research, a revolution has been brewing. Its activists are not anarchists, but rather Nobel Laureates in physics and economics and pony-tailed graduates, mathematicians, and computer scientists from all over the world. They have formed an iconoclastic think-tank a...

A scientist integrates evolutionary biology, genetics, psychology, economics, and more to explore the development and workings of human societies."There is no good reason why human societies should not be described and explained with the same precision and success as the rest of nature." Thus argues evolutionary psychologist Pascal Boyer in this uniquely innovative book.Integrating recent insights from evolutionary biology, genetics, psychol...

Following the publication of the seminal Fear of Freedom, Erich Fromm applied his unique vision to a critique of contemporary capitalism in The Sane Society. Where the former dealt with man's historic inability to come to terms with his sense of isolation, and the dangers to which this can lead, The Sane Society took his theories one step further. In doing so it established Fromm as one of the most controversial political thinkers of his generation. Anaylsing how...

"Vital reading for anyone who wants to create communications that cause people to act."Matt Barlow, CEO, CAPWhen you face a red light, what can you say to turn it green?On stage needing to hook the audience?Convincing a friend over coffee?Sweating it in a job interview?The results of what you say aren't coincidence. Whether you persuade, or not, is down to whether you use the right prompts.

This royal historian's "lively study of the four Georges who sat on the English throne for over a century is a joy" (Jane Austen's Regency World).For over one hundred years of turmoil, upheaval, and scandal, Great Britain was a Georgian land. From the day the German-speaking George I stepped off the boat from Hanover to the night that George IV, bloated and diseased, breathed his last at Windsor, the four kings had presided over a changing nation.Kings of G...

The two most popular titles by the noted linguist and critic in one volume—an ideal introduction to his work.On Language features some of Noam Chomsky's most informal and highly accessible work. In Part I, Language and Responsibility, Chomsky presents a fascinating self-portrait of his political, moral, and linguistic thinking. In Part II, Reflections on Language, Chomsky explores the more general implications of the study of language and...