Foundations of Sociology – serie

In this famous study, selected by the New York Times Book Review as one of the most important social science books of 1971, the author argues that the familiar correlation between educational training and job performance is a myth and that the upgrading of the supply of labor is meaningless unless we reconsider the nature of the demand. A lengthy new introduction by the author extends his critique into the 1990s. Originally published by Praeger in 1970. From the Foreword: '[P]rovides the reader with rich fare. . . . Berg has opened up important new questions and has cast serious doubts upon accepted answers to old questions . . . . In attacking the hallowed beliefs of statesmen, employers, economists, and educators, he has let in new light where light has long been needed. And he has done so with scholarly acumen, stylistic grace, and a saving sense of humor—qualities all too rare in academe.' Eli Ginzberg, Columbia University

In this book Allan Horwitz views mental illness within a sociological framework of deviance and social control and evaluates communal and individualistic styles of therapeutic control. His new prologue updates the work in the context of significant changes in the American response to mental illness, including the process of psychiatric diagnosis, conceptions of mental illness, and the dynamics of the mental health professions. Originally published by Academic Press in 1982. From the Prologue to the Percheron Press Edition . . . '[A new] system [of social control] based on less coercive and more voluntary therapy has crystallized as trends toward individualism have intensified. The social structures that characterize the remainder of this century, and the accompanying social responses to mental illness that arise, remain to be seen.'

The sociology of deviance was in its heyday when Prentice-Hall published this book in 1969. John Lofland traces the field from pre-World War II to the late sixties and pioneers the application of 'grounded theory' to the study of deviant behavior. In his new prologue, Joel Best writes, 'More than thirty years after the book first appeared, we have no better synthesis of the labeling approach.' From the Prologue to the Percheron Press Edition: 'In 1969 John Lofland sought to organize the sociology of deviance.  He presented a synthesis, a framework, and invited sociologists to evaluate it. That invitation still stands and it deserves to be accepted.'

This book documents the conventional wisdom that Japanese workers displayed significantly more commitment to their organizations than did American workers. But as the authors point out in their new prologue, the world is very different from when this survey of U.S. and Japanese manufacturing firms first appeared; the latter are now moving closer to the American "market individualist" model. Originally published by Cambridge University Press in 1990.