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Essentials of Sociology, adapted from George Ritzer’s Introduction to Sociology, provides the same rock-solid foundation from one of sociology′s best-known thinkers in a shorter and more streamlined format. With new co-author Wendy Wiedenhoft Murphy, the Third Edition continues to illuminate traditional sociological concepts and theories and focuses on some of the most compelling features of contemporary social life: globalization, consumer culture, the internet, and the "McDonaldization" of society.

New to this Edition

• Updated examples in the text and "Digital Living" boxes keep pace with changes in digital technology and online practices, including Uber, Bitcoin, net neutrality, digital privacy, WikiLeaks, and cyberactivism.
• New or updated subjects apply sociological thinking to the latest issues including:
  • the 2016 U.S. election
  • Brexit
  • the global growth of ISIS
  • climate change
  • further segmentation of wealthy Americans as the "super rich"
  • transgender people in the U.S. armed forces
  • charter schools
  • the legalization of marijuana
  • the Flint water crisis
  • fourth-wave feminism