The McDonaldization of Society: New Century Edition

"Ritzer′s text is in a class by itself. I can′t think of another as insightful and enjoyable."

-- James D. Cover, Furman University

One of the most noteworthy and popular Sociology books of all time, The McDonaldization of Society demonstrates the power of the sociological imagination to today′s readers in a way that few books have been able to do. It is ideal for use in a wide range of undergraduate courses and will be of equal interest to anyone interested in social criticism. This book links a large number of social phenomena to McDonaldization, some which are directly affected by the principles of the fast-food restaurant and others where the effect is more indirect.

George Ritzer is Distinguished University Professor at the University of Maryland, where he has also been a Distinguished Scholar-Teacher and won a Teaching Excellence Award. He was awarded the Distinguished Contributions to Teaching Award by the American Sociological Association, an honorary doctorate from LaTrobe University in Australia, and the Robin Williams Lectureship from the Eastern Sociological Society. His best-known work, The McDonaldization of Society (8th ed.), has been read by hundreds of thousands of students over two decades and translated into over a dozen languages. Ritzer is also the editor of McDonaldization: The Reader; and author of other works of critical sociology related to the McDonaldization thesis, including Enchanting a Disenchanted World, The Globalization of Nothing, Expressing America: A Critique of the Global Credit Card Society, as well as a series best-selling social theory textbooks and Globalization: A Basic Text. He is the Editor of the Encyclopedia of Social Theory (2 vols.), the Encyclopedia of Sociology (11 vols.; 2nd edition forthcoming), the Encyclopedia of Globalization (5 vols.), and is Founding Editor of the Journal of Consumer Culture. In 2016 he will publish the second edition of Essentials of Sociology with SAGE.