This new edition is a substantial abridgment and update of Randall Collins's 1975 classic, Conflict Sociology. The first edition represented the most powerful and comprehensive statement of conflict theory in its time.

This book will appeal not only to psychologists, sociologists, and anthropologists, but to those in fields as diverse as human sexuality, religious studies, and literary theory.

The Credential Society is a classic on the role of higher education in American society and an essential text for understanding the reproduction of inequality.

The coverage of women in sociology is now better integrated into the main topics of the book.

By highlighting unusual and unexpected conclusions this lively book dramatizes the significance of sociological analysis for those new to its study.

This is an excellent overview of theoretical sociology. Theoretical means that the book tries to understand society in a general sense. The book has a historical perspective but it also deals with the issues as they stand today.

This is especially the case when his discussion is combined with his reflections on ethnic change. Journal of the History of Behavioral Sciences"

A new interpretation of Weberian sociology, showing its relevance to current world isues.

Violence comes neither easily nor automatically. Antagonists are by nature tense and fearful, and their confrontational anxieties put up a powerful emotional barrier against violence.

Nevertheless, Explosive Conflict offers some optimistic discoveries on clues to mass rampages and heading off police atrocities, with practical lessons from time-dynamics of violence.