View a demo chapter by visiting http: //www.sagepub.com/ritzeressentials/demo/ Join the conversation with one of sociology's best-known thinkers. Essentials of Sociology, adapted from Ritzer's Introduction to Sociology, Second Edition, provides the same rock-solid foundation in a shorter and more streamlined format. Like the original Ritzer text, Essentials of Sociology illuminates traditional sociological concepts and theories, and focuses on some of the most compelling contemporary social phenomena: globalization, consumer culture, the Internet, and the "McDonaldization" of society. As technology flattens the globe, students are challenged to apply a sociological perspective to their world, and to see how "public" sociologists are engaging with the critical issues of today.