Best Selling Books by Kenneth Roberts

Sociology''s goals are ambitious. Their pursuit is exciting. Covering the development of sociology from its origins to the present day as well as identifying the strengths and limitations of all sociology''s main research methods, this book provides a lucid introduction for students who are embarking on or considering taking-up sociology. It explains the jargon in all sociology''s main theories and methods. Sociology''s core subject matter has always been the major transformations as societies have modernised. These transformations include industrialisation, urbanisation and democratisation; the building of social market economies and welfare states after the Second World War; and the ongoing transformation into a post-industrial era. Sociology''s parallel core interest is in social divisions, by class, gender and race among others, thereby identifying change-makers and how the effects of transformations have varied by social position. The book introduces sociology''s perpetual debates: the senses in which its methods can be scientific; the relationship between theory and research; and the role of sociology in society. It stresses how sociology addresses questions that are simply not posed elsewhere. The answers consistently challenge everyday common sense and the views of the world offered by politicians and the media. Succinct and comprehensive, this book welcomes and challenges sociology students.

How do young people survive in the era of high unemployment, persistent economic crises and poor living standards that characterise post-communist society in the former Soviet Union? This major original book - written by leading authorities in the field - shows how young people have managed to maintain optimism despite the very severe economic and social problems that beset the countries of the former Soviet Union. In most former Soviet countries the devastating initial shock of market reforms has been followed by precious little therapy. The effects have been most pronounced among young people as only a minority have prospered in the new market economies and inequalities have widened dramatically. Despite an all-round improvement in educational standards, most young people have been unable to obtain proper jobs. Housing and family transitions have been blocked. Uses of free time have shifted massively from the public into the private domain. Few young people have any confidence that their countries'' political leaders will engineer solutions. Yet in spite of all this, the majority prefer the new uncertainties, and the merest prospect of the Western way of life, to the old guarantees. They are prepared to give the reforms more time to deliver, but this time is now fast running out. Surviving Post-communism will be an illuminating exposition of the realities of post-communist life for scholars of sociology and transition studies.

Survey of the legal status and basic legislation of the Commonwealth countries and UK overseas territorys. (Jurisprudence).

Monograph on the role of the working class in the social structure of the UK - discusses sociological aspects of trends relating to family life, educational level, life style and political ideology, etc., and considers the importance of trade union membership as a power base for manual workers. References and statistical tables.

This textbook aims to provide the student with a comprehensive and accessible overview of the role and importance of youth and employment in Britain today.

An American ranger commander leads an expedition against an Indian town and dreams of finding an overland passage to the Pacific.

This novel, set in 1710, tells how a shipwrecked crew survive on the hostile Maine coast.