This exciting new reader brings together some of the best recent sociological writing on British society. The volume features carefully selected extracts from books and journals, which have been chosen for the high quality of their sociological analysis and their relevance to understanding social change. Thematically organized, the volume gives wide coverage to a range of key topics in sociology, including globalization, class and inequality, gender, ethnicity, the media, leisure and consumption. It also provides students with an interesting introduction to a variety of social science research methods, from ethnographies and in--depth interviews to observation and surveys. Most of the chapters are based on recent empirical research, and therefore capture in detail some of the more distinctive features of life in Britain at the turn of the millennium. Read alone, or in conjunction with the third edition of the best--selling textbook, Contemporary British Society, this book provides the newcomer to sociology with a fascinating introduction to social life in Britain and a taste of the excitement and complexity of original research and analysis.