Understanding a Diverse Society: Margaret L. Anderson and Howard Francis (Book Review Sample)

Book review
Understanding a Diverse Society
Margaret L. Anderson and Howard Francis
Understanding a diverse society is a book that has been co-authored by Margaret Anderson and Howard Francis. Margaret is a well-known authority in the sociology field having written a number of bestselling titles in sociology that have been used for academic purposes over the years. This book is a detailed analysis of the ways and manner in which social mingling between and among various diverse social groupings inside specific units of the society. It offers a wide and clear overview on distinguishing aspects in class, gender, race, ethnicity, religion and geography of people that to a large extent affect and drive their belief systems, their values and stereotypes. This work seemed to be an outcome of extensive and well done research by the authors covering almost all aspects of sociological issues that affect the human condition. The book is comprised of five parts that cover different sociological issues. The first section deals with a general discussion of sociological aspects of the society. The second section deals with the issue of individuals and the society. The third section deals with aspects of social inequalities. The fourth section comprises on issues regarding social institutions and ways in which they work and carry out their duties. The last section of the book deals with the aspect of social change.
The most impressive aspect of this book is that it tries to cover almost all the sociological aspects of the society form crime, power, culture, poverty, education, inequalities and many more. This is a daunting task considering that sociology is considered an extremely wide and complex topic to conclusively engage in one book. It is said that the study of one individual is a very complex, what about the study of a group of individuals?
Social diversity and the dynamics of how it works is one of the widest aspects in the field of sociology. In my opinion therefore, the authors have been able to careful and systematically tried to break down each of the parts of this diverse aspect in ways that the reader can understand and relate to the actual happenings in the society around them. The authors manage to use clear cut principles and examples that are real, thus fostering authenticity in what they are putting across. The style of writing is particularly attractive as it can easily be accommodated by an undergraduate student. The “debunking society myth” feature in the book is an excellent addition that enables the reader to open up their critical thinking faculties and to think for themselves. There are also to do exercises that the reader can engage in so that the interaction of the reader with the book is almost at an intimate level.
The authors need to be credited for the manner in which they use the examples that they use in the book. Even though the bulk of the book is about the American culture, the examples come from all over the world. This is an important aspect in sociology because the reality is that the human condition is more or less the same all over the world and the human being at their core are just the same and face the same challenges all over the world. This style also helps to make the concept of “diversity” more viable in itself.
The first part of the book touches on the sociological perspective and describes the general meaning of sociology explaining its dynamics and how it is continually evolving. This part is categorized into two chapters. The authors in this section uncover unsettling truths about sociological perspectives in the form of imaginations that mirror aspects that are truly in our daily lives, thus gives the reader an open examination that is unsettling on the actual condition of the environment we all live in. The authors then go ahead and explain to the reader the manner in which to conduct proper sociological research. In this part, the book outlines techniques that are viable to conduct effective research that is ethical, informative and relevant.
Part two of the book is made up of six chapters that focus on the individual in the society. It breaks down and explains the meaning of culture and what it is composed of, outlining aspects such as religion, norms, beliefs and language. It goes on to explain the complexity and multifaceted nature of culture through an examination of the current popular culture. The reader is accorded a thorough perspective on the process of socialization and the factors that lead to socialization. The authors explain every term as clearly as possible, breaking down the meaning of social structure and how it gets expression within different societies.
In this specific part of the book, the authors use vivid examples on the manner in which organizations operate and find expression in the society, expounding on the manner in which crime and justice are hinged on the core of social orientation. The authors particularly are able to describe the current society relating it to the “McDonalization’ of the society, where people are finding artificial ways of living.
The fact that it was first published in the year 2007 makes it relatively new. This adds on to its relevance with regards to the societal issues that are discussed. It is therefore considered a modern book, relevant to the current sociological setting that it speaks from. It is fascinating and the coverage causes the reader desire to read more about the authors and from the authors. The study causes the reader to desire to read more as it engages the mind to learn to question, to introspect, to differ and to view the world the way that sociologists do.
The authority and credibility of the book is greatly enhanced due to the numerous facts and evidences laid out in the text. These evidences have been well researched by a number of scientists around the world and offer a point of reference to numerous theoretical aspects. This comes out very clearly on the discussion on social inequalities. The authors stage findings of the process and different stages of the development of different ethnic groups in the U.S. This data even goes ahead to critically analyze the issue of assimilation. An important section is when the authors discuss the impact of sexual revolution in the society, changing sh...