Marx, Durkheim, Weber: Formations of Modern Social Thought

This Second Edition is a thoroughly revised, expanded version of the bestselling student text in classical social theory. Author Kenneth Morrison provides an authoritative, accessible undergraduate guide to the three pivotal figures in the classical tradition. Readable and stimulating, the Second Edition of Marx, Durkheim, Weber: Formations of Modern Social Thought explains the key ideas of these thinkers and situates them in their historical and philosophical contexts.

Customer Reviews:

Not too bad

By Alexandria R Fedewa - February 19, 2013

I learned a lot from this book. Keeping all the information straight was my biggest problem. I bought it for school.

Easy to read

By Ejay - March 18, 2011

I have been reading several books about Durkheim, Marx, and Weber for my dissertation, and I found this book of one of the best. What makes me like this book are three. First, this book is written in plain English. I didn't expect reading those scholars' work is this much easy to understand. The author thoroughtly review those scholars' books directly and then put his extensive comments and explanations. Just reading direct quotes of those scholars made me "what..? what..?" but once reading the author's explanations, I was like "ah..oh..I see...." Second, the author often makes comparisons between the scholars. For example, I understand what Marx and Weber talk about social class but didn't get the similarities and differences in the arguments between the scholars. But, the author often makes comparisons in writing social class. Lastly, the author explains something again and again. Some may find this redundant, but since the content of this book is heavy, explaining one concept by... read more

Frustrating and Uninteresting Read

By Frustrated Sutdent - November 2, 2011

This is one of the most dull readings I have ever come across as a college student. Now, this may be due in part to the subject matter, but the style of writing is what really drags this book down. I have three problems with this book: first, that every paragraph seems to begin the same way. It makes it very repetitive and easy to be distracted while reading it. Second, the author, in his attempt to simplify things and explain them, generally adds a plethora of absolutely non-essential information that not only adds to the sheer volume of material to sift through but also can very easily confuse the reader, even more so than the author's original text. Third, everything he explains he explains in lists exactly such as this! I cannot tell you how hard it is to keep focus on something when the author sounds exactly as disinterested in the material as the student may or may not be to begin with.

As a side note, I have done well in my theory class in which I have to use this... read more