Introduction to Sociology: Understanding and Changing the Social World
This text is more comprehensive than most Introductory texts I have read in Sociology. I am hard-pressed to think of an area that is not addressed in the book.
The text appears without bias to me. I am sensitive to that, and I do not see a paradigmatic leaning in the book, which is impressive. While the data appear accurate, many displays of data need to be updated. Also, some terminology is outdated, especially with regard to transgender people.
While I read the first several chapters, I kept track of just some of the times that ten years ago (and sometimes twenty years ago) was treated as "current." For example, the US Presidential election between Obama and McCain, GSS data on attitudes toward African Americans and women,crime rates as of 2008, incarceration rate as of 2009, attitude toward social services for the poor, racial and ethnic composition of the poor, trends in global income distribution, average life expectancy around the world (2004), and attitude toward interracial marriage among whites (2008).
Conceptually, the only major problems I saw regarded transgender people.
The text is relatively jargon-free. I find it accessible and engaging. The sentence structure is varied, and the paragraphs are well-constructed. The examples given keep the reader's interest as well.
There is great consistency throughout the book. I find it appealing.
The book is very long and there is no way that all of the book could be read in one semester. Therefore, students will have to skip some chapters. It would be nice if there were a way to click on each chapter separately. However, if readers have the Table of Contents in front of them, they can use "Find" to get to the next chapter if need be.
The text flows very nicely. The author makes reference to information and concepts in past chapters throughout the book, which I think really ties it together well. After all, social lives are not as easily broken up into sections as textbooks have to be, and ideas can be built upon and reinforced as they are here.
The charts and displays look great! The only major problem I see with the book's interface is the number of URLs which are outdated. Here are just the ones I detected in the first several chapters: page 27, page 40, page 55, page 92, and page 168.
The book appears to be written very well. I found few if any errors in grammar. The chapters are very readable and engaging.
The book is quite inclusive and not at all offensive. I think the author represents sociological thinking very well, and models how to look at these issues - some of which are quite controversial - in a nonjudgmental and curious way, just as they ought to be.