The Sociological Imagination

No one has written with more verve and authority about the awesome and frightening capabilities of man than the late C. Wright Mills, a prominent and controversial sociologist who wrote such memorable tomes as "White Collar", an exploration of the emerging American Middle class in the early 1950s, and The Power Elite", a provocative examination of the nature of power, privilege, and status in the United States, and how each of these three critical elements of power and property in this country are irrevocably connected to each other. At last look, both books were still in print and are still used in both undergraduate and graduate sociology courses throughout the world. After fifty years, that in and of itself is powerful testimony to his enduring value as a scholar and an original thinker.Here Mills focuses memorably on the qualities and uses of the sociological perspective in modern life, how such a scientifically based way of looking at, interpreting, and interacting with the larger world invests its user with a better, more accurate, and quite instrumental picture of what is happening meaningfully around him. For Mills, the key to understanding the value in such a perspective is in appreciating that one can only understand the motives, behavior, and actions of others by locating them within a wider and more meaningful context that connects their personal biographies with the large social circumstances that surround, direct, and propel them at any given historical moment. For Mills, for example, trying to understand the reasoning behind the sometimes desperate actions of Jews in Nazi Germany without appreciating the horrifyingly unique existential circumstances they found themselves in is hopelessly anachronistic and limited.On the other hand, one invested with such an appreciation for how biography and history interact to create the meaningful social circumstances of any situation finds himself better able to understand the fact that when in a country of one hundred million employed, one man's singular lack of employment might be due to his persoanl deficiencies or lack of a work ethic, and be laid at his feet as a personal trouble, it is also true that when twenty million individuals out of that one hundred million figure suddenly find themselves so disposed and unemployed, that situation is due to something beyond the control of those many individuals and is best described in socioeconomic terms as a social problem to be laid at the feet of the government and industry to resolve. To Mills, it is critical to understand the inherant differences between personal troubles on the one hand, which an individual has the responsibity to resolve and overcome, and social ills, which are beyond both his ken or control. Indeed, according to Mills, increasingly in the 20th century one finds himself trapped by social circumstance into dilemmas he is absolutely unable to resolve without significant help from the wider social community.Thus, for both psychological as well as social reasons, a person using the sociological perspective, or invested with what he called the "sociological imagination", is more able to think and act critically in accordance with the evidence both outside his door and beyond himself. Fifty years later, such a recognition of "what's what" and "who's who" based on the ability to judge the information within the social environment is as valuable as ever. This is a wonderful book, written in a very accessible and entertaining style, meant both for an intellectual audience and for the scholastic community as well. While it may not be for "everyman", any person wanting to better understand and more fully appreciate how individual biography and social history meaningfully interact to create the realities we live in will enjoy and appreciate this legendary sociological critique and invitation to the pleasures of a sociological perspective by one of its most remarkable proponents some half century ago.

This book is excellent and should be used as text for most basic of cultural and social sciences courses to give the insight to the student that is needed as early as possible in the curriculum. This was an entertaining read that educated me with the knowledge that all aspects of our lives affect the way we perceive the world. This observation may of always been present but this book brings that IDEA to the conscious surface for use in analyzing any social behavior.

Slow to read because it’s dry but it’s worth it if you can get through it.

A standard & sociology text book & must for social science undergrads but needs to be used along with critical commentaries from feminist & postcolonial sociological theorists to be more relevant to today's students.

Bought this book for my Sociology class.

I rated this with a 5 star because it was like brand new but it was actually used. That showed me that it was only given to responsible people. What I dont like is that it is kind of hard for me to understand. So to get the concept I have to read it more that twice. I would recomend if to people if it was manditory for their class to read but not just to have.

I bought this book to send to a teacher in Meghalaya, India who is taking a graduate degree in Sociology and it was a text in his own classes. He was thrilled to receive it because the standard of his work is raised according to the textbooks from his own reading list he is able to obtain.I cannot review the book (as I didn't read it), but repeat his appreciation and his promise to use it to serve his community.

Anyone who does or will be doing research, you MUST read this book. Mills is spot on in his arguments, and as a Criminologist, he has changed the way I view research entirely. I won't give anything away, but I will say that this is truly a treasure and anyone who has anything to do with research (especially Sociologists and Criminologists) needs to read this.

"C Wright Mills is the "go-to" author for everyone who wishes to obtain a broader view of sociology. In his book 'Sociological Imagination' ; Mills does not mock traditional sociological views in his 1959 book; which has become the cornerstone of sociological research. Mills asks what is important for sociologists is not classification as an end in itself but more so; particular divisions offering access to social power and social identity."

An essential read for anyone concerned with the interactions between people and the institutions of our society. As J. J. Rousseau foreshadowed prior to the French Revolution: " Man is born free but everywhere is in chains."

Matched its description, packed properly, arrived when expected.

This is a MUST for all budding sociologists, it clearly states the case for sociology as a discipline distinct from the other social sciences.Indeed, this is the book that desribes what is best about sociology and what is the "point" of studying the discipline, and acting upon our learnings.Most importantly, this book is absolutely still revelent to today - we still have many personal troubles that are related to problematic public issues that require investigation, reflection and ultimately action. Although not directly refering to the "structure versus agency" debate, at its core this is what this iconic book is all about.

Suggested course material and has been helpful