Book Reviews | The Socjournal

History is written by the winners, that is certainly true. Living in a nation of “winners” we never hear the stories of those who lose. We exalt those who are triumphant, tell their stories, and forget the pain and the suffering that has resulted from the struggle. But not always. Dr. Owen Brown of Medgar Evers College, CUNY introduces us to a pictorial history of America where the story isn’t about the winners, it is about the colonial disenfranchised and their epic struggles to survive and thrive in a hostile and racist world. It is a story, told in pictures, that is both enlightening and, we hope, inspiring.

Dr. Owen Brown | Feb 08, 2012 | Comments 0

Here are two books that bring the notion of drug and alcohol rehab and treatment into personal control and away from expensive treatment centers. Both books eschew moralistic therapies that focus on character weakness or genetics and instead focus on the actual brain mechanisms involves in alcohol and drug rehab. It is not quite sociology, since environmental precursors (like abusive childhood environments) are not considered, but it a fascinating approach to rehab nonetheless.

Dr. Michael Sosteric | Nov 19, 2011 | Comments 9

Well it looks like the end of the world is finally here. Obama has just admitted there is no more cash. Unless the U.S. Government agrees to up the debt ceiling, all those who depend on social security are going to be sacrificed at the alter of economic accumulation. The situation seems dire, and hopeless (at least for army veterans, the handicapped, the aging, and the disabled). Even the greatest economic minds of our time seem stumped and unable to understand, much less fix it. Oh woe is me. What are we going to do?

Dr. Michael Sosteric | Jul 12, 2011 | Comments 2

A review of currently available social problems textbooks by Lutz Kaelber, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, USA.

lutzkaelber | Feb 15, 2011 | Comments 0

BOOK REVIEW: Science, Evolution, and Creationism 2008. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. [amazonify]0309105862[/amazonify]In an effort to extol the virtues of evolution, the National Academy of Sciences has published an updated version of Science, Evolution, and Creationism (2008). In this brief, but colorful book, a coterie of prestigious scientists take readers on a whirlwind tour of the triumphant and tumultuous […]

Timothy McGettigan | Sep 14, 2010 | Comments 0

I very much enjoyed the money book. Your explanation of economics is refreshingly clear. The concepts you present are particularly important now, since the corporate media are avoiding any critical analysis of the basic assumptions underlying the economic system and any consideration of alternative systems and are focusing instead on the elite insider debate over superficial reforms. […]

Dr. Michael Sosteric | Aug 09, 2010 | Comments 0

In an era of constant war and aggression, William T. Hathaway provides a peaceful breathe of air. An awesome book for any social science educator wanting to present a fresh and alternative view to the constant media hype about war, democracy, aggression, and patriarchy.

Dr. Michael Sosteric | Jul 30, 2010 | Comments 2

Through the medium of kinship, early humans developed cooperative arrangements that, according to Marshal Sahlins, were apparently mandated by virtue of the conditions of life. In his words, “The emerging human primate, in a life-and-death-struggle economic struggle with nature, could not afford the luxury of a social struggle. Co-operation, not competition, was essential…. Hobbe’s famous […]

Dr. Michael Sosteric | Mar 17, 2010 | Comments 5

  There are now a range of academic disciplines which have been indelibly marked by — indeed produced by — the interests and actions of the propagandists. The field of Public Relations research, the discipline of marketing, some aspects of Human Resource Management and Management and Business Studies more generally all bear the mark of […]

Dr. Michael Sosteric | Feb 06, 2010 | Comments 4