The new edition of this popular text offers an accessible introduction to 23 of the key theorists of Sociology. Four new chapters consider the work of Theodor Adorno, Michael Mann, Dorothy Smith and Zygmunt Bauman, alongside updated material throughout other chapters.

"[This] book is very well organized, clear in its argument about the importance of social theory, and approachable to sociologists at almost any level....Rob Stones and the 23 contributors to the second edition of Key Sociological Thinkers have created an informative and exciting exploration of the most important persons in the formation of current sociological thought. The book is an excellent resource for teaching because of its focus on constructing complex theory to applicable daily life and complex social theory" - Todd. M. Callais, Denison University, USA, in 'Teaching Sociology'.

Introduction; R.Stones
How to Use This Book; R. Stones
Seeing Things Differently: An Alternative Contents List
List of Glossary Boxes
PART I
Karl Marx; B.Jessop
Max Weber; L.A.Scaff
Emile Durkheim; W.Pope
Georg Simmel; P.Watier
Herbert Blumer; K.Plummer
Theodor Adorno; M.O'Neill
Talcott Parsons; R.Holton
PART II
Robert K. Merton; A.Sica
Norbert Elias; J.Hughes
Erving Goffman; R.Williams
David Lockwood; N.Mouzelis
Harold Garfinkel; J.Heritage
Louis Althusser; T.Benton
Nancy Chodorow; K.A.Martin
PART III
Jurgen Habermas; W.Outhwaite
Pierre Bourdieu; L.Wacquant
Michel Foucault; L.Barth
Stuart Hall; M.Barrett
Dorothy E. Smith; K.Widerberg
Anthony Giddens; I.J.Cohen
Michael Mann; R.Schroeder
Arlie Russell Hochschild; S.J.Williams
Zygmunt Bauman; T.Blackshaw

ROB STONES is Professor in Sociology at the University of Essex, UK. He is the author of Sociological Reasoning (1996) and Structuration Theory (2005). He is also the editor of two book series, Traditions in Social Theory and Themes in Social Theory.