Making Sense of America: Sociological Analyses and Essays

Product Description For four decades, Herbert J. Gans has been one of the leading sociologists in the United States. His writing on American communities, culture, and ethnicity have been widely read here and elsewhere, and his incisive analyses of antipoverty policy and other social policies have been influential in many policy analysis offices and government agencies. This new collection of Gans's scholarly and other writings, including excerpts from his most prominent ethnographic books, The Urban Villagers, The Levittowners, and Deciding What's News, will be a thought-provoking resource for social scientists, students, and all those who care about America. Review Herbert Gans has, more than any other sociologist, been more successful for a longer time in bringing the insights and findings of sociological work to the attention of the general public. His research has always been probing and on the mark right down to the details, and his thinking about public issues and policy has those qualities too. These essays give the full flavor of a life of hard work and solid thought. -- Howard S. Becker, University of WashingtonThe book is an excellent celebration of a reflective and critical sociological life journey which takes on broad old and new topics and influences. -- David Calvey, NetworkThis collection provides an excellent retrospective of Gans's work; it is also a useful supplement to introductory sociology texts. Gans's engagement with critical intellectual and scholarly issues, his interest in public policy, and his coherent discussions of theory make this book especially accessible for undergraduates., Contemporary Sociology About the Author Herbert J. Gans, Robert S. Lynd Professor of Sociology at Columbia University, is the author of numerous books and articles on urban problems, social policy, and American culture.