"All praise to Allan Johnson for this fine second edition of the very best portable dictionary of sociology. Clear and knowing, it skillfully anatomizes the concepts basic to a sociological understanding of social life. It belongs in every college and public library and in many a personal library as well." Robert K. Merton, Columbia University "Here is a ... Read morebook that every academic library and every department of sociology should own. The author's short opening essay is clear and valuable [and he] has chosen his vocabulary items well. Every word I looked up was there. His essay definitions are good, and closely representative of the discipline, [and] he precisely grasps the distinctive elements of each concept." Contemporary Sociology " It is a portable dictionary that will help undergraduates and others interested in understanding the central concepts of sociology by offering them a representative sampling of some specialized areas within the field and some important concepts from related disciplines-such as Authority, Feminism and Teleoogical Explanation. This is unique in one respect. The others are edited collections of entries composed by many writers, but Johnson wrote this entire work in an effort to present the whole conceptual framework with one continuos voice." Booklist, Chicago, Illinois "Inexpensive, with an attractive format, this dictionary would be helpful for sociology students and would make a good, if not essential, addition to library collections." P. Flaherty, Eastern Kentucky University "Intended to serve as a guidebook, this dictionary is so well written that it could also be read cover to cover. All public libraries should have a copy of this work in their reference sections." Libraries Unlimited, American Reference Books Show Less