Goldberg uses a multi-media approach to critically examine the most significant and volatile issues of our times: the environmental crisis, upheavals in the developing world, health, terrorism, and technology. The book is unique in its in-depth coverage of these pressing social concerns and its use of extensive media resources through a companion website. An introductory section reviews basic sociological concepts and theories, including the sociological imagination and class, gender, and race stratification all of which are revisited in each chapter. The book helps students appreciate the magnitude of the problems of the twenty-first century as they develop the intellectual tools to understand them sociologically and personally.Features of the text: "

Ezra Taft Benson's ultra-conservative vision made him one of the most polarizing leaders in the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. His willingness to mix religion with extreme right-wing politics troubled many. Yet his fierce defense of the traditional family, unabashed love of country, and deep knowledge of the faith endeared him to millions. In Thunder from the Right, a group of veteran Mormon scholars probe aspects of Benson's extraordinary life. Topics include: how Benson's views influenced his actions as Secretary of Agriculture in the Eisenhower Administration; his dedication to the conservative movement, from alliances with Barry Goldwater and the John Birch Society to his condemnation of the civil rights movement as a communist front; how his concept of the principal of free agency became central to Mormon theology; his advocacy of traditional gender roles as a counterbalance to liberalism; and the events and implications of Benson's term as Church president. Contributors: Gary James Bergera, Matthew Bowman, Newell G. Bringhurst, Brian Q. Cannon, Robert A. Goldberg, Matthew L. Harris, J. B. Haws, and Andrea G. Radke-Moss

Ezra Taft Benson's ultra-conservative vision made him one of the most polarizing leaders in the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. His willingness to mix religion with extreme right-wing politics troubled many. Yet his fierce defense of the traditional family, unabashed love of country, and deep knowledge of the faith endeared him to millions. In Thunder from the Right, a group of veteran Mormon scholars probe aspects of Benson's extraordinary life. Topics include: how Benson's views influenced his actions as Secretary of Agriculture in the Eisenhower Administration; his dedication to the conservative movement, from alliances with Barry Goldwater and the John Birch Society to his condemnation of the civil rights movement as a communist front; how his concept of the principal of free agency became central to Mormon theology; his advocacy of traditional gender roles as a counterbalance to liberalism; and the events and implications of Benson's term as Church president. Contributors: Gary James Bergera, Matthew Bowman, Newell G. Bringhurst, Brian Q. Cannon, Robert A. Goldberg, Matthew L. Harris, J. B. Haws, and Andrea G. Radke-Moss

Goldberg uses a multi-media approach to critically examine the most significant and volatile issues of our times: the environmental crisis, upheavals in the developing world, health, terrorism, and technology. The book is unique in its in-depth coverage of these pressing social concerns and its use of extensive media resources through a companion website. An introductory section reviews basic sociological concepts and theories, including the sociological imagination and class, gender, and race stratification all of which are revisited in each chapter. The book helps students appreciate the magnitude of the problems of the twenty-first century as they develop the intellectual tools to understand them sociologically and personally.Features of the text: "