The Sociological Imagination

C. Wright Mills is best remembered for his highly acclaimed work The Sociological Imagination, in which he set forth his views on how social science should be pursued. Hailed upon publication as a cogent and hard-hitting critique, The Sociological Imagination took issue with the ascendant schools of sociology in the United States, calling for a humanist sociology connecting the social, personal, and historical dimensions of our lives. The sociological imagination Mills calls for is a sociological vision, a way of looking at the world that can see links between the apparently private problems of the individual and important social issues.
Leading sociologist Todd Gitlin brings this fortieth anniversary edition up to date with a lucid introduction in which he considers the ways social analysis has progressed since Mills first published his study in 1959. A classic in the field, this book still provides rich food for our imagination.

The late C. Wright Mills, Professor of Sociology at Columbia University, was a leading critic of modern American civilization. Amitai Etzioni is the University Professor of the George Washington University. He is the author of many books, including The Limits of Privacy and The New Golden Rule, winner of the 1997 Simon Wiesenthal Center for Tolerance Award. He has taught at Harvard and Columbia universities and was senior adviser to the White House from 1978 to 1979. He lives in Washington, D.C.