Searching for the best sociology books to expand your knowledge? Delve into the diverse landscape of human society, culture, and behavior with these top recommendations. We’ve scoured numerous lists and compiled an extensive array of sociological reads that offer profound insights into various aspects of our world.
Top 21 Sociology Books: Reviews and Insights
Here’s an in-depth look at the most recommended titles that offer unique perspectives on societal structures, human behavior, and cultural dynamics.
“Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community” by Robert D. Putnam
Unraveling the shifts in societal bonds, Putnam’s work reflects on the decline of social connections and its impact on modern America. With extensive data, he highlights the repercussions of disconnected communities on our well-being.
“Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism” by Benedict Anderson
Anderson’s influential work explores the birth and proliferation of nationalism, tracing its roots beyond European origins. From South America to global empires, he unearths the formation of collective identities that shaped nations.
“Madness and Civilization: A History of Insanity in the Age of Reason” by Michel Foucault
Foucault’s archeological examination of madness tracks its evolution in Western society. From societal acceptance to perceived threat, he navigates the transformation of perceptions and the confinement of the ‘insane.’
“Rules of the Sociological Method” by Emile Durkheim
Durkheim’s manifesto for sociology emphasizes its scientific foundations. With clear principles and methodological insights, he lays the groundwork for objective sociological research, guiding future studies.
“Sociology” by Anthony Giddens
Giddens’ comprehensive introduction focuses on core sociological concepts. Bridging theory with contemporary research, this edition adeptly explores unanswered sociological questions, making it a fundamental resource.
“Sociology: Themes And Perspectives” by Michael Haralambos
Haralambos’ eighth edition covers contemporary sociological teachings, incorporating the latest research and theoretical advancements. Its exploration of globalization makes it a vital resource for understanding societal shifts.
“Stigma: Notes on the Management of Spoiled Identity” by Erving Goffman
Goffman delves into the lives of stigmatized individuals, exploring their constant battle for societal acceptance. Through case studies, he reveals the strategies and complexities of self-perception in the face of rejection.
“The Civilizing Process” by Norbert Elias
Elias presents a groundbreaking work tracing the evolution of manners and personalities in Western Europe. Highlighting the impact of state formation on societal changes, this book redefines our understanding of civilization.
“The Lonely Crowd” by David Riesman
A seminal book analyzing the ‘new middle class,’ Riesman’s work dissects inner-directed versus other-directed social character, offering insights into contemporary American society and its psychological fabric.
“The Social Construction of Reality” by Peter L. Berger and Thomas Luckmann
This groundbreaking study introduces the concept of ‘social construction’ into the social sciences. Berger and Luckmann revolutionize the sociology of knowledge, emphasizing the construction of reality within societies.
The plethora of influential works awaits those eager to delve deeper into sociology. Here’s a comprehensive list of additional must-reads that enrich our understanding of societal structures, cultural paradigms, and historical contexts.
“Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking” by Malcolm Gladwell
Gladwell uncovers the nuances of quick decision-making, exploring the power of intuition and rapid cognition.
“Caste Its Twentieth Century Avatar” by M. N. SRINIVAS
An insightful exploration of the caste system’s transformation in the 20th century, shedding light on its evolution and impact.
“Democracy in America” by Alexis de Tocqueville
Offering profound insights into American society, Tocqueville’s classic work remains a cornerstone in understanding democracy’s nuances.
“Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison” by Michel Foucault
Foucault’s critical analysis of the penal system’s historical evolution and its implications for societal control remains highly relevant.
Dive into the cosmic wonders with Universe Books, exploring the mysteries of the universe through captivating literature.
“Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal” by Eric Schlosser
Schlosser’s investigation exposes the underbelly of the fast-food industry, shedding light on its social, economic, and health implications.
“Gang Leader for a Day: A Rogue Sociologist Takes to the Streets” by Sudhir Venkatesh
Venkatesh’s immersive ethnographic study offers an insider’s view of gang culture, revealing the dynamics of urban poverty and power structures.
“Guns, Germs And Steel” by Jared M. Diamond
Diamond’s Pulitzer Prize-winning exploration delves into the complex interplay of geography, biology, and history in shaping societies.
“The Beauty Myth” by Naomi Wolf
Wolf’s compelling critique examines societal beauty standards and their impact on women’s lives, sparking discussions on gender and self-image.
“The Communist Manifesto” by Friedrich Engels and Karl Marx
A revolutionary political treatise that remains influential, delineating the core tenets of communism and critiquing capitalist societies.
These selections represent a diverse array of perspectives, contributing to a comprehensive understanding of sociology and its multifaceted dimensions.
“Escape from Freedom” by Erich Fromm
Erich Fromm’s “Escape from Freedom” delves into the psychological impact of freedom and the human response to its complexities. It explores the paradoxical relationship between freedom and the desire for security, shedding light on how individuals navigate the tension between independence and conformity in society.
“The Wisdom of Crowds” by James Surowiecki
In “The Wisdom of Crowds,” James Surowiecki presents a fascinating exploration of collective intelligence. Delving into various domains, from economics to decision-making, Surowiecki reveals the surprising effectiveness of group judgments and the ways in which diverse perspectives can lead to remarkably wise and accurate outcomes.
“Economy and Society: An Outline of Interpretive Sociology” by Max Weber
Max Weber’s “Economy and Society” stands as a seminal work in sociology. This extensive examination delves into the interplay between social action, religion, bureaucracy, and political communities. It offers a profound understanding of how societal structures and norms shape human behavior and organizational dynamics.
“The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism” by Max Weber
Weber’s “The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism” explores the connection between religious ethics and the rise of capitalist economic systems. This thought-provoking analysis suggests how Protestant values and beliefs influenced the development of modern capitalism, offering a compelling perspective on socio-economic evolution.
These books delve deep into various aspects of sociology, offering valuable insights into the human condition, societal structures, and the forces that shape our lives.
Compendium of Sociological Thought: A Multifaceted Reading List
| Book | Author | Lists |
|---|---|---|
| (Titles Appear On 2 Lists Each) | ||
| Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking | Malcolm Gladwell | Letter Pile |
| Goodreads 2 | ||
| Caste Its Twentieth Century Avatar | M. N. SRINIVAS | Clear IAS |
| Nice IAS | ||
| Essentials of Sociology: A Down-to-Earth Approach | James M. Henslin | Ranker |
| Bethel University | ||
| Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal | Eric Schlosser | Ranker |
| Goodreads 2 | ||
| Gang Leader for a Day: A Rogue Sociologist Takes to the Streets | Sudhir Venkatesh | Goodreads 2 |
| Real Sociology | ||
| Guns, Germs And Steel | Jared M. Diamond | Book Depository |
| We Speak For Earth | ||
| Ideology and Utopia | Karl Mannheim | List Muse |
| The Society Pages | ||
| Main Currents in Sociological Thought | Raymond Aron | List Muse |
| Nice IAS | ||
| Modern Romance | Aziz Ansari | Book Depository |
| Goodreads 2 | ||
| Modernization Of Indian Tradition | Yogendra Singh | Nice IAS |
| Clear IAS | ||
| Orientalism | Edward W. Said | List Muse |
| Goodreads 2 | ||
| Oxford Dictionary Of Sociology | John Scott; Gordon Marshall | Bethel University |
| Clear IAS | ||
| Sex at Dawn: How We Mate, Why We Stray, and What It Means for Modern Relationships | Christopher Ryan and Cacilda Jetha | Book Depository |
| Bookriot | ||
| Superfreakonomics | Steven D. Levitt | Book Depository |
| Goodreads 2 | ||
| The Beauty Myth | Naomi Wolf | We Speak For Earth |
| Goodreads 2 | ||
| The Communist Manifesto | Friedrich Engels and Karl Marx | We Speak For Earth |
| Goodreads 2 | ||
| The Death and Life of Great American Cities | Jane Jacobs | List Muse |
| Goodreads 2 | ||
| The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life | Émile Durkheim | Goodreads 2 |
| We Speak For Earth | ||
| The Marx-Engels Reader | Robert C. Tucker; Karl Marx; Friedrich Engels | List Muse |
| Goodreads | ||
| The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness | Michelle Alexander | Goodreads |
| Goodreads 2 | ||
| The Power Elite | C. Wright Mills | List Muse |
| The Society Pages | ||
| The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life | Erving Goffman | ISA |
| List Muse | ||
| The Psychopath Test: A Journey Through the Madness Industry | Jon Ronson | Book Depository |
| Goodreads 2 | ||
| The Second Sex | Simone de Beauvoir | We Speak For Earth |
| List Muse | ||
| The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism | Naomi Klein | Real Sociology |
| The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere | Jürgen Habermas | Ranker |
| The Structure of Social Action | Talcott Parsons | ISA |
| List Muse | ||
| The Theory of Communicative Action | Jurgen Habermas | ISA |
| List Muse | ||
| The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements | Eric Hoffer | Social Science Careers |
| Goodreads 2 | ||
| Unequal Childhoods | Annette Lareau | We Speak For Earth |
| List Muse | ||
| (Titles Appear On 1 Lists Each) | ||
| 23 Things They Don’t Tell You About Capitalism | Chang, Ha-Joon | Real Sociology |
| A Civil Action | Jonathan Harr | Ranker |
| A Different Mirror | Ronald Tataki | We Speak For Earth |
| A Sociology of Mental Health and Illness | David Pilgrim | Goodreads |
| A Vindication of the Rights of Woman | Mary Wollstonecroft | We Speak For Earth |
| A Voice from the South | Anna Julia Cooper | The Society Pages |
| Abnormal Psychology | Ronald J. Comer | Goodreads |
| Abortion and the Politics of Motherhood | Kristin Luker | The Society Pages |
| Africa: Altered states, ordinary miracles | Dowden, R. | Real Sociology |
| Against Method | Paul Feyerabend | List Muse |
| Agrarian Revolution | Jeffrey M. Paige | List Muse |
| America Alone | Mark Steyn | Ranker |
| American Apartheid: Segregation and the Making of the Underclass | Douglas Massey; Nancy Denton | List Muse |
| American Savage | Bookriot | |
| Amusing Ourselves to Death | Letter Pile | |
| An Engine, Not a Camera | Donald MacKenzie | Five Books |
| Anti Utopia | Dipankar Gupta | Nice IAS |
| Armed America | Kyle Cassidy | Ranker |
| Asian American Dreams | Helen Zia | We Speak For Earth |
| Asylums | Erving Goffman | List Muse |
| Bad Science | Goldacre, B. | Real Sociology |
| Banksy’s Bristol: Home Sweet Home: The Unofficial Guide | Steven Wright | Goodreads |
| Basic Concepts in Sociology | Max Weber | List Muse |
| Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity | Katherine Boo | Goodreads 2 |
| Between the World and Me | Ta-Nehisi Coates | Goodreads 2 |
| Black Reconstruction | W.E.B. DuBois | The Society Pages |
| Body Talk: The Material and Discursive Regulation of Sexuality, Madness and Reproduction | Jane M. Ussher | Goodreads |
| Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex | Bookriot | |
| Bright-Sided: How the Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking Has Undermined America | Barbara Ehrenreich | Goodreads 2 |
| Bringing it all back home | Lawrence Grossberg | Ranker |
| Capital | Karl Marx | List Muse |
| Capitalism and modern social theory | Anthony Giddens | Nice IAS |
| Captive State: The corporate takeover of Britain | Monbiot, G. | Real Sociology |
| Caste in modern India and other essays | M.N.Srinivas | Nice IAS |
| Castes of Mind: Colonialism and the Making of Modern India | Nicholas B. Dirks | Goodreads |
| Celebrity Culture | Ellis Cashmore | Goodreads |
| Chavs: The Demonization of the Working Class | Owen Jones | Goodreads |
| Chinese Education in Singapore: An Untold Story of Conflict and Change | Zhixiong Zhang | Goodreads |
| Cinderella Ate My Daughter: Dispatches from the Frontlines of the New Girlie-Girl Culture | Peggy Orenstein | Goodreads 2 |
| Civilization and Capitalism | Fernand Braudel | List Muse |
| Class and Class Conflict in Industrial Society | Ralf Dahrendorf | The Society Pages |
| Class, Race, Gender, and Crime | Jeanne Flavin; Gregg Barak; Paul Leighton | Bethel University |
| Coming of Age in Samoa | Margaret Mead | We Speak For Earth |
| Coming to America | Roger Daniels | We Speak For Earth |
| Communalism, caste and Hindu nationalism | Ornit Shani | Nice IAS |
| Conscious evolution | Barbara Marx Hubbard | Ranker |
| Contemporary Christianity and LGBT Sexualities | Stephen J. Hunt | Goodreads |
| Continuities in cultural evolution | Margaret Mead | Ranker |
| Conversations with Anthony Giddens | Anthony Giddens | Ranker |
| Corrosion of Character | Richard Sennett | The Society Pages |
| Crime Control as Industry | Nils Christie | List Muse |
| Criminalistics | Richard Saferstein | Ranker |
| Critical Path | Buckminster Fuller | Ranker |
| Critique of Everyday Life | Henri Lefebvre | List Muse |
| Cultural Anthropology | William A. Haviland | Ranker |
| Cultural change in India | Y.Singh | Nice IAS |
| Cultural studies and cultural value | John Frow | Ranker |
| Culture and Integration of Indian Tribes | R.S.Mann | Nice IAS |
| Culture and Values | Lawrence S. Cunningham | Ranker |
| Culture Jam | Kalle Lasn | We Speak For Earth |
| Culture of Fear | Furedi, F. | Real Sociology |
| Data trash | Arthur Kroker | Ranker |
| David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants | Malcolm Gladwell | Goodreads 2 |
| Delusions of Gender: How Our Minds, Society, and Neurosexism Create Difference | Cordelia Fine | Goodreads 2 |
| Democracy and ethnic conflict | Rajat Ganguly | Nice IAS |
| Democracy and Social Ethics | Jane Addams | The Society Pages |
| Demography is Politics: How We Control Demographic Change | Joanne Rodrigues | Goodreads |
| Development-induced displacement and resettlement | Jason Stanley | Nice IAS |
| Dialectic of Enlightenment | Theodor W. Adorno | List Muse |
| Digital Capitalism | Dan Schiller | Ranker |
| Discovering Statistics Using IBM SPSS Statistics | Andy Field | Book Depository |
| Doctoring the mind : why psychiatric treatments fail | Richard P. Bentall | Goodreads |
| Durkheim | Anthony Giddens | Ranker |
| Eros and Civilization | Herbert Marcuse | List Muse |
| Essays in socio-economics | Amitai Etzioni | Ranker |
| Evaluation | Peter Henry Rossi | Ranker |
| Every Family in the Land: Understanding Prejudice and Discrimination Against People with Mental Illness | A.H. Crisp | Goodreads |
| Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City | Matthew Desmond | Goodreads 2 |
| Exit, Voice, and Loyalty | Albert O. Hirschman | Ranker |
| Families We Choose: Lesbians, Gays, Kinship | Kath Weston | Goodreads |
| Fat Is a Feminist Issue | Susie Orbach | Goodreads |
| Female Chauvinist Pigs | Ariel Levy | We Speak For Earth |
| Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center | bell hooks | We Speak For Earth |
| Forces of Production: A Social History of Industrial Automation | David F. Noble | List Muse |
| Forging Industrial Policy | Frank Dobbin | Five Books |
| Formation of modern social thought | Ken Morrison | Nice IAS |
| Foundations of Social Theory | James Coleman | List Muse |
| Game | Neil Strauss | Book Depository |
| Gandhi and beyond | David Cortright | Ranker |
| Gender and Power: Society, the Person, and Sexual Politics | R.W. Connell | List Muse |
| Getting a Job | Mark Granovetter | Five Books |
| Getting the Love You Want | Harville Hendrix | Book Depository |
| Getting To Know Waiwai: An Amazonian Ethnography | Alan Tormaid Campbell | Goodreads |
| Ghostly Matters | Avery Gordon | The Society Pages |
| Globalisation and its discontents | Stiglitz, J. | Real Sociology |
| God is Not One | Stephen Prothero | We Speak For Earth |
| Going Sane: Maps of Happiness | Adam Phillips | Goodreads |
| Great American City | Robert J. Sampson | List Muse |
| Guyland | Michael Kimmel | We Speak For Earth |
| Hacking the future | Arthur Kroker | Ranker |
| Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide | Nicholas D. Kristof | Goodreads 2 |
| Handbook of Indian Sociology edited | Veena Das | Nice IAS |
| Harvest of Empire | Juan Gonzales | We Speak For Earth |
| Hegemony or Survival: America’s quest for global dominance | Chomsky, N. | Real Sociology |
| Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis | J.D. Vance | Goodreads 2 |
| History and Class Consciousness | Georg Lukacs | List Muse |
| Homo Deus | Yuval Noah Harari | Book Depository |
| Homo Hierarchicus: The Caste System and Its Implications | Louis Dumont | Goodreads |
| Homo Ludens: A Study of the Play-Element in Culture | Johan Huizinga | Goodreads |
| How to Do Everything | Jesse Feiler | Ranker |
| How to Talk to Anyone | Leil Lowndes | Ranker |
| How to Think More About Sex | Bookriot | |
| Human Ecology | Amos H. Hawley | List Muse |
| Human Nature and the Social Order | Charles Cooley | The Society Pages |
| Humanities through the Arts | F. David Martin | Ranker |
| Identity and development of self from a cross cultural perspective | Stephen J | Nice IAS |
| If Each Comes Halfway: Meeting Tamang Women in Nepal | Kathryn S March | Ranker |
| In other worlds | Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak | Ranker |
| In Praise of Idleness and Other Essays | Bertrand Russell | Ranker |
| Indian Sociology:Social Conditioning and Emerging Concerns | Y.Singh | Nice IAS |
| Interrogating Caste | Dipankar Gupta | Nice IAS |
| Introduction to Physical Anthropology | Robert Jurmain | Ranker |
| Issues and Ethics in the Helping Professions | Gerald Corey | Ranker |
| Journeys through Mental Illness: Client Experiences and Understandings of Mental Distress | Juliet Foster | Goodreads |
| Labor and Monopoly Capital: The Degradation of Work in the Twentieth Century | Harry Braverman | List Muse |
| Last flesh | Christopher Dewdney | Ranker |
| Leading at school | John C. Maxwell | Ranker |
| Legitimation Crisis | Jürgen Habermas | Ranker |
| Letters to a Young Contrarian | Christopher Hitchens | Book Depository |
| Liquid Modernity | Bauman, Z. | Real Sociology |
| Love and addiction | Stanton Peele | Ranker |
| Loving relationships II | Sondra Ray | Ranker |
| Mad, Bad, and Sad: Women and the Mind Doctors | Lisa Appignanesi | Goodreads |
| Madness and Democracy: The Modern Psychiatric Universe | Marcel Gauchet | Goodreads |
| ManifestA | Jennifer Baumgardner and Amy Richards | We Speak For Earth |
| Manufacturing Religion: The Discourse on Sui Generis Religion and the Politics of Nostalgia | Russell T. McCutcheon | Goodreads |
| Marriages and Families | Nijole V. Benokraitis | Ranker |
| Marx, Durkheim, Weber: Formations of Modern Social Thought | Kenneth Morrison | Goodreads |
| Mass Media in a Mass Society | Richard Hoggart | Goodreads |
| Master of Sociological Thought | Lewis Coser | Nice IAS |
| Me, Myself, and Them | Kurt Snyder | Goodreads |
| Medical Sociology | Robert E. Gamer; William C. Cockerham | Bethel University |
| Men and Women of the Corporation | Rosabeth Moss Kanter | List Muse |
| Methods in social research | Goode and Hutt | Nice IAS |
| Middletown | Robert Lynd and Helen Merrell Lynd | The Society Pages |
| Millennials Rising | Neil Howe | Ranker |
| Mind, Self, and Society | George Herbert Mead | List Muse |
| Modern social theory | Ian Craib | Ranker |
| Moral matters | Jan Narveson | Ranker |
| Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution | Peter Kropotkin | List Muse |
| My life among the deathworks | Philip Rieff | Ranker |
| Nation-Building and Citizenship | Reinhard Bendix | Ranker |
| New rules of sociological method | Anthony Giddens | Ranker |
| Nickel and Dimed: On | Barbara Ehrenreich | Goodreads 2 |
| No Logo | Naomi Klein | Goodreads 2 |
| Nudge | Richard H. Thaler | Book Depository |
| On Behalf of the Insane Poor | Dorothea Dix | We Speak For Earth |
| ON INDIVIDUALITY AND SOCIAL FORMS | GEORG SIMMEL | Social Science Careers |
| ON SUICIDE: A STUDY IN SOCIOLOGY | EMILE DURKHEIM | Social Science Careers |
| One Blood: Inside Britain’s new street gangs | Heale, J. | Real Sociology |
| One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest | Ken Kesey | Goodreads |
| One-Dimensional Man | Herbert Marcuse | Ranker |
| Other People’s Children | Lisa Delpit | We Speak For Earth |
| Our Origins | Clark Spencer Larsen | Ranker |
| Our Religions | Arvind Sharma | We Speak For Earth |
| Outliers | Malcolm Gladwell | Book Depository |
| Outsiders: Studies In The Sociology Of Deviance | Howard S. Becker | List Muse |
| Paths in Utopia | Martin Buber | The Society Pages |
| Patriarchy and Accumulation On A World Scale | Maria Mies | List Muse |
| Patterns of Culture | Ruth Benedict | List Muse |
| Pedagogy of the Oppressed | Paulo Freire | List Muse |
| Persistence and Change in Tribal India | M.V. Rao | Clear IAS |
| Perv: The Sexual Deviant in All of Us | Jesse Bering | Bookriot |
| Phenomenology of the Social World | Alfred Schutz | List Muse |
| Political Parties | Robert Michels | The Society Pages |
| Postmodern Ethics | Zygmunt Bauman | List Muse |
| Power and Privilege | Gerhard E. Lenski | List Muse |
| Power: A Radical View | Steven Lukes | List Muse |
| Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions | Dan Ariely | Goodreads 2 |
| Preemption | Alan Dershowitz | Ranker |
| Pretty in Punk | Letter Pile | |
| Principles of Western Civilisation | Benjamin Kidd | Ranker |
| Privilege, Power, and Difference | Allan Johnson | Ranker |
| Prospects for conservatives | Russell Kirk | Ranker |
| Prozac Nation | Elizabeth Wurtzel | Goodreads |
| Psychiatry: The Science of Lies | Thomas Szasz | Goodreads |
| Public relations | Edward Bernays | Ranker |
| Quiet | Susan Cain | Book Depository |
| Race Rules | Michael Eric Dyson | We Speak For Earth |
| Race, Class, and Gender | Margaret L. Andersen | Ranker |
| Raising a Secure Child | Kent Hoffman | Book Depository |
| Reading Capital | Louis Althusser; Etienne Balibar; Roger Establet | List Muse |
| Reason and Revolution | Herbert Marcuse | Ranker |
| Regulating the Poor: The Functions of Public Welfare | Frances Fox Piven; Richard A. Cloward | List Muse |
| Religion in Human Evolution | Robert Bellah | The Society Pages |
| Religion in Western Society | Stephen J. Hunt | Goodreads |
| Religious fundamentalism in developing countries | Santosh C. Saha, Thomas K. Carr | Nice IAS |
| Rights for Victims of Crimes | Irvin Waller | Bethel University |
| Risk Society | Ulrich Beck | List Muse |
| Runaway World: How globalisation is reshaping our lives | Giddens, G. | Real Sociology |
| Rural Sociology | A.R.Desai | Nice IAS |
| Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind | Yuval Noah Harari | Goodreads 2 |
| Savage Inequalities: Children in America’s Schools | Jonathan Kozol | List Muse |
| Schizophrenia: A Scientific Delusion? | Mary Boyle | Goodreads |
| Scholarship on social movement organizations | Beth Schaefer Caniglia and JoAnn Carmin | Nice IAS |
| Schooling In Capitalist America | Samuel Bowles; Herbert Gintis | List Muse |
| Seeing sociologically | Harold Garfinkel | Ranker |
| Selections from the Prison Notebooks | Antonio Gramsci | List Muse |
| Sex is Not a Natural Act & Other Essays | Bookriot | |
| Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs | Letter Pile | |
| Sexing the Body | Anne Fausto-Sterling | We Speak For Earth |
| Sidewalk | Mitch Duneier | The Society Pages |
| Sitting in the fire | Arnold Mindell | Ranker |
| Smart Mobs: The Next Social Revolution | Howard Rheingold | Ranker |
| So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed | Jon Ronson | Goodreads 2 |
| Social and Cultural Dynamics | Pitirim Sorokin | List Muse |
| Social Background of Indian Nationalism | A. R. Desai | Clear IAS |
| Social Change In Modern India | M. N. SRINIVAS | Clear IAS |
| Social Exclusion and Poverty | Todman, L. | Nice IAS |
| Social Justice and the City | David Harvey | List Muse |
| Social Movements 1768-2012 | Charles Tilly | List Muse |
| Social movements and the state | G.Shah | Nice IAS |
| Social movements in India | M.S.A.Rao | Nice IAS |
| Social Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy | Barrington Moore | List Muse |
| Social Problems In India | Ram Ahuja | Clear IAS |
| Social Research | Sotirios Sarantakos | Nice IAS |
| Social Research Methods | Alan Bryman | Goodreads |
| Social stratification and change in India | Y.Singh | Nice IAS |
| Social stratification ed | Dipankar Gupta | Nice IAS |
| Social Stratification in India | K.L.Sharma | Nice IAS |
| Social Systems | Niklas Luhmann | List Muse |
| Social Theory and Social Structure | Merton, Robert K. | ISA |
| Social Theory, Psychoanalysis and Racism | Simon Clarke | Goodreads |
| Social welfare and individual responsibility | David Schmidtz | Ranker |
| Society in America | Harriet Martineau | The Society Pages |
| Society In India: Concepts, Theories And Recent Trends | Ram Ahuja | Clear IAS |
| Sociological Theory | George Ritzer | Clear IAS |
| Sociological Theory in the Classical Era: Text and Readings | Laura Desfor Edles | Goodreads |
| Sociological Theory: A Critical Primer | Walter A. Jensen | Goodreads |
| Sociological Thought | Francis Abraham, John Henry Morgan | Clear IAS |
| Sociology | Horton and Hunt | Nice IAS |
| Sociology | T.B.Bottomore | Nice IAS |
| Sociology | James Fulcher | Goodreads |
| Sociology : Your Compass for a New World | Robert J. Brym; John Lie | Bethel University |
| Sociology of Religion : Contemporary Developments | Kevin J. Christiano; William H. Swatos; Peter Kivisto | Bethel University |
| Sociology of Religion: A Critical Primer | Walter A. Jensen | Goodreads |
| Soul Murder: Persecution in the Family | Morton Schatzman | Goodreads |
| SPSS Survival Manual | Julie Pallant | Ranker |
| State, Power, Socialism | Nikos Poulantzas | List Muse |
| Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences | Frederick J Gravetter | Ranker |
| Strangers in Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American Right | Arlie Russell Hochschild | Goodreads 2 |
| Street Corner Society: The Social Structure of an Italian Slum | William Foote Whyte | List Muse |
| Structure of social action | Jonathan Turner | Nice IAS |
| Studies in Ethnomethodology | Harold Garfinkel | List Muse |
| Suicide | Emile Durkheim | List Muse |
| Surviving Schizophrenia: A Manual for Families, Patients, and Providers | E. Fuller Torrey | Goodreads |
| Tally’s Corner | Elliott Liebow | We Speak For Earth |
| Technically Together | Michele A. Willson | Ranker |
| The 48 Laws Of Power | Robert Greene | Book Depository |
| The Abolition of Liberty: The Decline of Order and Justice in England | Peter Hitchens | Goodreads |
| The Affluent Worker | John H. Goldthorpe | List Muse |
| The Alpha Enterprise: Evangelism in a Post-Christian Era | Stephen Hunt | Goodreads |
| The American Way of War | Eugene Jarecki | Ranker |
| The Battle for God | Karen Armstrong | We Speak For Earth |
| The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined | Steven Pinker | Goodreads 2 |
| The Blackwell companion to sociology of religion | Richard K. Fenn (Editor) | Bethel University |
| The Blank Slate | Steven Pinker | We Speak For Earth |
| The Bottom Billion | Collier, P. | Real Sociology |
| The Bureaucratic Phenomenon | Michel Crozier | List Muse |
| The Complete Guide to Asperger’s Syndrome | Tony Attwood | Book Depository |
| The Concise 48 Laws Of Power | Robert Greene | Book Depository |
| The Condition of Postmodernity: An enquiry into the conditions of social change | Harvey D. | Real Sociology |
| The Construction of Homosexuality | David F. Greenberg | Goodreads |
| The Cultural Creatives | Ranker | |
| The Cultural Landscape | James M. Rubenstein | Ranker |
| The Culture Clash | Jean Donaldson | Ranker |
| The Culture Industry | Theodor Adorno | The Society Pages |
| The Culture of Control: Crime and Social Order in Contemporary Society | David W. Garland | Goodreads |
| The Culture of Public Problems | Joe Gusfield | The Society Pages |
| The deep democracy of open forums | Arnold Mindell | Ranker |
| The Descent of Madness: Evolutionary Origins of Psychosis and the Social Brain | Jonathan Burns | Goodreads |
| The DESIRABLE BODY | Jon Stratton | Ranker |
| The Divided Self: An Existential Study in Sanity and Madness | R.D. Laing | Goodreads |
| The Earth Shall Weep | James Wilson | We Speak For Earth |
| The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte | Karl Marx | The Society Pages |
| The equality illusion : The truth about men and women today | Banyard, K. | Real Sociology |
| The Evolution of Cooperation | Robert Axelrod | List Muse |
| The Family in India: Critical Essays | A.M.Shah | Nice IAS |
| The Female Eunuch | Germaine Greer | We Speak For Earth |
| The Female Malady: Women, Madness and English Culture 1830-1980 | Elaine Showalter | Goodreads |
| The Feminine Mystique | Betty Friedan | We Speak For Earth |
| The Fourth Turning: An American Prophecy – What the Cycles of History Tell Us About America’s Next Rendezvous with Destiny | William Strauss | Ranker |
| THE FREUD READER | SIGMUND FREUD AND PETER GAY (EDITOR) | Social Science Careers |
| The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists | Neil Strauss | Ranker |
| The Giddens reader | Anthony Giddens | Ranker |
| The Gift | Marcel Mauss | List Muse |
| The God Delusion | Richard Dawkins | Goodreads |
| The Good Book: A Humanist Bible | A.C. Grayling | Goodreads |
| The good city and the good life | Daniel Kemmis | Ranker |
| The Good Heart | His Holiness the Dalai Lama | We Speak For Earth |
| The Goose-Step | Upton Sinclair | Ranker |
| The Great Transformation: The Political and Economic Origins of Our Time | Karl Polanyi | List Muse |
| The Handbook of Political Sociology | Thomas Janoski (Editor); Robert Alford (Editor); Alexander Hicks (Editor); Mildred A. Schwartz (Editor) | Bethel University |
| The Hero with a Thousand Faces | Joseph Campbell | We Speak For Earth |
| The History of Sexuality, Volume 1: An Introduction | Michel Foucault | Goodreads 2 |
| The Humanistic Tradition | Gloria K. Fiero | Ranker |
| The I in We | Axel Honneth | List Muse |
| The Information Society | John Feather | Ranker |
| The Internet As A Diverse Community | Urs E. Gattiker | Ranker |
| The Interpretation Of Cultures | Clifford Geertz | List Muse |
| The Life Course: A Sociological Introduction | Stephen Hunt | Goodreads |
| The Logic of Collective Action: Public Goods and the Theory of Groups | Mancur Olson | List Muse |
| The Logic of Scientific Discovery | Karl Popper | List Muse |
| The Long Twentieth Century: Money, Power and the Origins of Our Times | Giovanni Arrighi | List Muse |
| The Lost Child of Philomena Lee | Martin Sixsmith | Book Depository |
| The Lucifer Effect | Philip Zimbardo | We Speak For Earth |
| The Madness of Our Lives: Experiences of Mental Breakdown And Recovery | Penny Gray | Goodreads |
| The making of sociology | Ronald Fletcher | Nice IAS |
| The Making of the English Working Class | E. P. Thompson | List Muse |
| The Managed Heart | Arlie Hochschild | The Society Pages |
| The Media of Mass Communication | John Vivian | Ranker |
| The Modern World-System I: Capitalist Agriculture and the Origins of the European World-Economy in the Sixteenth Century | Immanuel Wallerstein | List Muse |
| The Myth of Mental Illness: Foundations of a Theory of Personal Conduct | Thomas Szasz | Goodreads |
| The Nature and Origins of Mass Opinion | John Zaller | Ranker |
| The new golden rule | Amitai Etzioni | Ranker |
| The New Imperialism | Harvey D. | Real Sociology |
| The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals | Michael Pollan | Goodreads 2 |
| The Opium of the Intellectuals | Raymond Aron | The Society Pages |
| The Original Rider Waite Tarot Deck | Arthur Edward Waite | Book Depository |
| The Origins of Totalitarianism | Hannah Arendt | List Muse |
| The Palimpsest of Human Rights | Jabez L. Van Cleef | Goodreads |
| The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less | Barry Schwartz | Ranker |
| The Peter Principle | Laurence J. Peter | Goodreads |
| The Philosophy of Money | Georg Simmel | List Muse |
| The place you love is gone | Melissa Holbrook Pierson | Ranker |
| The Polish Peasant in Europe and America | William Thomas; Florian Znaniecki | List Muse |
| THE PORTABLE JUNG | CARL JUNG | Social Science Careers |
| The possessed individual | Arthur Kroker | Ranker |
| The power of charm | Brian Tracy | Ranker |
| The power of identity | Manuel Castells | Ranker |
| The Profits of Religion | Upton Sinclair | Ranker |
| The Promise of Sociology | Rob B. Beamish | Bethel University |
| The Purity Myth | Jessica Valenti | We Speak For Earth |
| The Quiet Room: A Journey Out of the Torment of Madness | Lori Schiller | Goodreads |
| The Real World | Kerry Ferris | Ranker |
| The Rebellious Century | Charles Tilly, Louise A. Tilly, Richard Tilly | Ranker |
| The Reproduction of Mothering | Nancy Chodorow | The Society Pages |
| The Rise of Professionalism | Magali Sarfatti Larson | List Muse |
| The Rise of the Network Society | Manuel Castells | List Muse |
| The road to equality | Seymour Itzkoff | Ranker |
| The Sane Society | Erich Fromm | Goodreads |
| The Science of Power | Benjamin Kidd | Ranker |
| The Secular Mirage: Modernity, The Postmodern Turn, and Religious Revivalism | Manochehr Dorraj | Nice IAS |
| The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work | John Gottman | Book Depository |
| The Social Meaning of Money | Viviana A Zelizer | Five Books |
| The Society of the Spectacle | Guy Debord | List Muse |
| The Sociological Tradition | Robert Nisbet | List Muse |
| The Sociology of American Drug Use | Greg S. Weaver; Charles E. Faupel; Alan M. Horowitz | Bethel University |
| The Sociology of Ethnicity: the Sociology of Ethnicity | Sinisa Malesevic | Nice IAS |
| The Sociology of News | Michael Schudson | Bethel University |
| The Sociology of Religion | Max Weber | We Speak For Earth |
| The Sociology of Science | Robert K. Merton | List Muse |
| The Sociology of social change | Piotr Sztompka | Nice IAS |
| The Sociology Student Writer’s Manual | William Archer Johnson; Stephen M. Garrison; Greg M. Scott | Bethel University |
| The solitary outlaw | B. W. Powe | Ranker |
| The Souls of Black Folk | W.E.B. Du Bois | Goodreads 2 |
| The Sources of Social Power | Michael Mann | List Muse |
| The State: Its Nature, Development, and Prospects | Gianfranco Poggi | List Muse |
| The Structure of Scientific Revolutions | Thomas Kuhn | List Muse |
| The structure of social amovements: Environmental activism and its opponents | Luther P.Gerlach | Nice IAS |
| The Theory of the Leisure Class | Thorstein Veblen | Goodreads 2 |
| The Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism | Gosta Esping-Andersen | List Muse |
| The Tibetan Book Of Living And Dying | Sogyal Rinpoche | Book Depository |
| The Tribal Culture of India | L.P.Vidyarthi | Nice IAS |
| The Varieties of Religious Experience | William James | We Speak For Earth |
| The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century | Thomas L. Friedman | Goodreads |
| The World: A Beginner’s Guide | Goran Therborn | List Muse |
| The World’s Religions | Huston Smith | We Speak For Earth |
| The World’s Wisdom | Philip Novak | We Speak For Earth |
| The Wretched of the Earth | Frantz Fanon; Jean-Paul Sartre | List Muse |
| The Yellow Wall-Paper | Charlotte Perkins Gilman | Goodreads |
| They F*** You Up: How To Survive Family Life | Oliver James | Goodreads |
| This Is Your Brain On Sex | Bookriot | |
| Thought contagion | Aaron Lynch | Ranker |
| To the Survivors: One Man’s Journey as a Rape Crisis Counselor with True Stories of Sexual Violence | Robert Uttaro | Goodreads |
| Toxic Psychiatry: Why Therapy, Empathy & Love Must Replace the Drugs, Electroshock & Biochemical Theories of the New Psychiatry | Peter R. Breggin | Goodreads |
| Tristes Tropiques | Claude Levi-Strauss | List Muse |
| Uncanny Networks | Geert Lovink | Ranker |
| Understanding Power | Noam Chomsky | List Muse |
| Unjust Rewards: Exposing greed and inequality in Britain today | Toynbee, P and Walker D. | Real Sociology |
| Untouchability in India | G.Shah, Harsh Mander, Sukhdeo Thorat, Satish Despande and Amita Baviskar | Nice IAS |
| Urban Villagers | Herbert J. Gans | List Muse |
| User Error | Ellen Rose | Ranker |
| Vices Are Not Crimes | Lysander Spooner | Ranker |
| Visionary leadership skills | Robert Dilts | Ranker |
| We Have Never Been Modern | Bruno Latour | List Muse |
| We Should All Be Feminists | Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie | Book Depository |
| We want some too | Hal Niedzviecki | Ranker |
| Weber’s Last Theory of Capitalism | Randall Collins | Nice IAS |
| Weight of the World | Pierre Bourdieu | The Society Pages |
| What Do Women Want?: Essays | Erica Jong | Goodreads |
| What is Sociology | Alex Inkles | Nice IAS |
| What Is Sociology? | Norbert Elias | List Muse |
| What the Dog Saw and Other Adventures | Malcolm Gladwell | Goodreads 2 |
| When Breath Becomes Air | Paul Kalanithi | Book Depository |
| When Religion Becomes Evil | Charles Kimball | We Speak For Earth |
| When Work Disappears | William Julius Wilson | List Muse |
| White Trash: The 400-Year Untold History of Class in America | Nancy Isenberg | Goodreads 2 |
| Why are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? | Beverly Daniel Tatum | We Speak For Earth |
| Woman’s Role in Economic Development | Ester Boserup | List Muse |
| Women Race & Class | Angela Y. Davis | We Speak For Earth |
| Women Who Run With The Wolves | Clarissa Pinkola Estes | Book Depository |
| Women’s Madness: Misogyny Or Mental Illness? | Jane M. Ussher | Goodreads |
| Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do | Studs Terkel | Ranker |
| World Regional Geography | Lydia Mihelic Pulsipher | Ranker |
| Worlds Of Pain | Lilian Brelow Rubin | List Muse |
Conclusion
In the realm of sociology, these books serve as intellectual gateways, each offering a unique lens into the complexities of human interactions within society. They unravel the intricate tapestry of our relationships, shedding light on the dynamics that shape our lives and communities.
From Max Weber’s exploration of the interplay between religion and economic systems in “The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism” to Erich Fromm’s psychological examination of freedom in “Escape from Freedom,” these texts transcend conventional boundaries.
They delve into the psyche of societies, dissecting the paradoxes, tensions, and influences that mold human behavior.
James Surowiecki’s “The Wisdom of Crowds” magnifies the collective intelligence present in group dynamics, illuminating how diverse perspectives coalesce into remarkably insightful decisions. Meanwhile, Weber’s “Economy and Society” forms a cornerstone, unraveling the intricate threads of social action, bureaucracy, and religious underpinnings in shaping societies.
Collectively, these texts don’t just analyze; they provoke introspection. They compel us to reevaluate societal norms, examine the impact of historical contexts, and consider the intricate dance between individual agency and communal structures. They stand as pillars in understanding the intricate web of relationships, power dynamics, and the evolution of human societies.
The spectrum of sociology encompasses a rich tapestry of perspectives, theories, and societal observations. These seminal works, along with others, offer readers profound insights into human behavior, societal structures, and the intricate interplay between individuals and their communities.
