Social Problems

In the 20th century, a good way to prove that "society" exists in the sense Margaret Thatcher notoriously denied was to claim it had "problems". Thus, many sociology textbooks had "social problems" in their titles. Nowadays "social problems" sounds a bit old-fashioned, maybe even politically incorrect. But that should not put you off. As is to be expected of one of Frank Furedi's past co-authors, Joel Best offers a step-by-step guide on how to create, not solve, social problems. He converts the idea of "causing more problems than one solves" from a political liability to a sociological virtue. You will come away thinking that all social problems are self-organising workfare schemes.

Who is it for? Troublemakers of the world unite!

Presentation: Very readable. The summaries, charts, boxes and glossary all make sense.

Would you recommend it? Yes, if you're ready to translate all the US examples into UK ones.