George Ritzer

This is a bizarre and very out of date book, and I mean those two things in conjunction. 1996 and 2017 are very different, yet are united in that we are in a globalized world. Even so, much of the anxiety which Ritzer talks about in his book is either out of date or commonplace today. I would argue that his ontology of Globalization wasn't properly suited to prescribe the end of everything in the way that his rhetoric allows. Rather, the technological changes and reshaping of our world has show more made the "McDanoldization" argument not out of date, but out of touch. However, as the academic world embraced "globalization fever" in the Clinton years, these were popular anxieties. I would treat "The Globalization of Nothing" as a primary source for analyzing how we treated the system when it first revealed itself. A worthwhile read, yes, but don't take it as gospel. show less

I think this book is a great starter for learning about sociological theory. It covers the fathers of sociology as well as other less-known contributors. I think it did a great job at discussing the different "strains" of sociological thought and theory. I have come to this book many times when I am uncertain of where a particular idea came from.

Miso

A lucid look at the current state of America in the world, and the changes that the "American Dream" are making not only across our own landscape, but internationally. The author explores a trend he refers to as "McDonaldization", the tendency to have a less permanent, less connected, more disposable world.

This book is a textbook that I utilized for my sociological theory course at Ball State University for the Spring 2015 semester. There were times where this book was a dry read, but overall this book serve the purpose of educating me on different theories that are out there in this particular field. I enjoyed this book on an academic front, but on an entertainment front I would not highly recommend it.