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 title provides a lucid introduction for students who are embarking or considering taking-up sociology.

Ken Roberts' Social Theory, Sport and Leisure offers a clear, compact primer in social theory for students needing to engage with the application of sociological perspectives to the study of sport and leisure. Written in a straightforward style and assuming no prior knowledge, the book offers a fresh and easy to read overview of sociology's contribution to sport and leisure studies. Ordered chronologically, each chapter: Focuses on the work of a major social theorist and their most influential ideas Provides helpful historical and biographical detail to set the person and their thinking in contemporary context Identifies questions in sport and leisure on which the theory can shed useful light Considers how the ideas can be, or have been, applied in the study of sport and leisure Works as a self-contained unit, enabling students and lecturers to use the book flexibly according to their needs. Written by an outstanding sociologist of leisure and sport, this intelligent yet jargon-free textbook enables students to get to grips with a wide range of important concepts and understand their diverse applications. As such, it is essential reading for any course designed to explore the place and meaning of sport and leisure in society.

At the low-water bridge below Tom Miller Dam, west of downtown Austin, during the summer of his tenth or eleventh year, Ken Roberts had his first encounter with cedar choppers. On his way to the bridge for a leisurely afternoon of fishing, he suddenly found himself facing a group of boys who clearly came from a different place and culture than the middle-class, suburban community he was accustomed to. Rather, "...they looked hard--tanned, skinny, dirty. These were not kids you would see in Austin." When Roberts's fishing companion curtly refused the strangers' offer to sell them a stringer of bluegills, the three boys went away, only to reappear moments later, one of them carrying a club. Roberts and his friend made a hasty retreat. This encounter provoked in the author the question, "Who are these people?" The Cedar Choppers: Life on the Edge of Nothing is his thoughtful, entertaining, and informative answer. Based on oral history interviews with several generations of cedar choppers and those who knew them, this book weaves together the lively, gritty story of these largely Scots-Irish migrants with roots in Appalachia who settled on the west side of the Balcones Fault during the mid-nineteenth century, subsisting mainly on hunting, trapping, moonshining, and, by the early twentieth century, cutting, transporting, and selling cedar fence posts and charcoal. The emergence of Austin as a major metropolitan area, especially after the 1950s, soon brought the cedar choppers and their hillbilly lifestyle into direct confrontation with the gentrified urban population east of the Balcones Fault. This clash of cultures, which provided the setting for Roberts's encounter as a young boy, propels this first book-length treatment of the cedar choppers, their clans, their culture and mores, and their longing for a way of life that is rapidly disappearing.

In Western societies, leisure has been a major force in changing people's lives. The containment of working time and the rise in spending power have been long-term trends and are likely to continue over the next decades. While growth of leisure may not have eradicated differences by social class, gender or age, it has transformed how these differences are expressed, challenged or modified. In parallel, leisure studies has itself developed significantly as an academic discipline. This second edition is a complete rewrite of the first edition published in 1999. It is an introductory undergraduate text on leisure. It has a sociological perspective and discusses recent debates and research on topics such as post-modernity, consumer cultures and lifestyles.

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 title provides a lucid introduction for students who are embarking or considering taking-up sociology.

Ken Roberts' Social Theory, Sport and Leisure offers a clear, compact primer in social theory for students needing to engage with the application of sociological perspectives to the study of sport and leisure. Written in a straightforward style and assuming no prior knowledge, the book offers a fresh and easy to read overview of sociology's contribution to sport and leisure studies. Ordered chronologically, each chapter: Focuses on the work of a major social theorist and their most influential ideas Provides helpful historical and biographical detail to set the person and their thinking in contemporary context Identifies questions in sport and leisure on which the theory can shed useful light Considers how the ideas can be, or have been, applied in the study of sport and leisure Works as a self-contained unit, enabling students and lecturers to use the book flexibly according to their needs. Written by an outstanding sociologist of leisure and sport, this intelligent yet jargon-free textbook enables students to get to grips with a wide range of important concepts and understand their diverse applications. As such, it is essential reading for any course designed to explore the place and meaning of sport and leisure in society.

This book uses the youth life stage as a window through which to view all domains of life in present-day Saudi Arabia: family life, education, the impact of new media, the labour market, religion and politics. The authors draw extensively on their interviews with 25-35 year olds, selected so as to represent the life chances of males and females who grow up in different socio-economic strata, and typically face different futures. The book presents an account of the ways in which family life, education, religion, employment and the housing regimes interlock, and how and why this interlocking is subject to increasing stresses. The chapters, which are built on documentary research, official published statistics and the authors' original evidence, provide invaluable insights into Saudi youth, which has never before been examined in such depth. Youth in Saudi Arabia will be of interest to students and scholars across a range of disciplines including Sociology, Politics and Middle East Studies.

Grandpa's white frame farmhouse lies all but hidden along a narrow cove among the wooded mountains of east Tennessee. An old wooden cigar box sits on his fireplace mantel. Inside the cigar box is an odd assortment of trinkets, what Grandpa calls "gewgaws." Each item in the box represents a story that Grandpa relates to his grandchildren. The following are included in this collection of Cigar Box Stories: Angel Figurine - "THE AVENGING ANGEL" - A visitor in the back pew at church takes an imaginary trip to Heaven where he assumes the position of Assistant Avenging Angel under the tutelage of Dallas, a chubby cherub from Texas. Recipe Card - "THE CHRISTMAS COOKIE CAPER" - A missing chocolate mint cookie almost results in the loss of Christmas for the Wilson children. (Includes cookie recipes.) Name Tag - "KARATE JOE" - A high school bully picks on the wrong guy. Letter Opener - "JOIN HANDS WITH THE BADGE" - A concerned citizen participating in the neighborhood watch program calls the police on a suspected burglar. Feather - "THE FRECKLE-FACED INDIAN" - The new kid in the neighborhood, a freckle-faced redhead, thinks that he is an American Indian. Social Security Card - "GOBANASHUS" - After her husband's death, Mrs. Watson decides to sell the farm but deed a homestead to the long-time hired hand-known only as Gobanashus. Paper Airplane - "THE AMAZING BOOMERANG PAPER AIRPLANE" - As the paper airplane contest at the Southtown High School Spring Arts and Science Festival approaches, rumors spread about an amazing plane that reverses direction and returns to the thrower. Piece of Brick - "THE BRICK PATIO" - A pragmatic CPA from Cleveland, Ohio, retires to North Carolina, where he and his wife become enmeshed in the local lore of Blackbeard the Pirate. Dog Tag - "THE DOBERMAN" - A frustrated condominium owner deals with the upstairs neighbor's annoying dog, a Doberman named "Tomika." Pocket Watch - "A GRAND DEPARTURE" - When the older of two feuding brothers dies, he leaves a fought over pocket watch to his younger brother. Large Tooth - "THE FOREST GRAVE" - The small town ne'er-do-well, achieves local fame after discovering a mysterious grave deep within the forest. Fake Tattoo - "THE COSTUME PARTY" - A serious accounting student takes a break from his studies to attend a costume party at the frat house where he meets an interesting girl. Medical Alert Bracelet - "CLASH OF THE MUNCHAUSENS" - Two hypochondriacs vie for attention at the annual Christmas luncheon of the Twisted Creek Women's Benevolent Association. Pocket Dictionary & Picture of Flea - "FLEAS" - Pet owners struggle to deal with a serious flea problem. 1904 Silver Dollar - "THE WELL" - This is a story about a witch, a well, and a young boy's unusual birthday present. .38 Bullet Shells - "MAMMA'S PEARL-HANDLED REVOLVER" - When Don's widowed mother feels threatened by prowlers, he installs a burglar alarm-but she wants a gun.

Three survivors of the Great War 1914/18, decide to tell of their experiences in the, trenches in the hope that the black and white dreams they suffer will at last go away. A novice reporter with the London Herald is sent to Wales to interview the three men. This is his first job, during the time he spends in Wales he falls in love with the town and the daughter of one of the men. When the Second World War breaks out and with a need to experience war he joins the army as a war correspondent, landing on Gold beach in 1944.