Forest And The Trees: Sociology as Life, Practice and Promise [Paperback]

Allan G. Johnson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 25, 1997

If sociology could teach everyone just one thing, what would it be? What insight about the nature of social life could serve as a gateway to questions that point toward everything we want to know? What could we use as a starting point, a core view of reality on which sociological practice of all kinds is based, consciously or not? "The Forest and the Trees" is one sociologist's response to the hypothetical core insight with the greatest potential to change how people see the world and themselves in it. It is about what that insight is and why it matters that we understand it, use it, and pass it on. It is about the future of a discipline whose influence and credibility will stand or fall on the ability to foster a clear and widespread understanding of what it means to think sociologically. "The Forest and the Trees" is an account of how sociological practice finds its way into almost every aspect of life, from headlines in the morning paper to the experience of growing older to the ravages of social oppression. It is about things small and things large, things simple and things more complex than we can imagine. "The Forest and the Trees" flows from the tradition of Peter Berger's "Invitation to Sociology" and C. Wright Mills' "Sociological Imagination". It will engage students and teachers alike with a rare and powerful combination of a scholar's feel for the discipline, and a gifted writer's voice that moves and inspires with the immediacy of lived experience, a clear and accessible articulation of the tools of the trade, and a passionate commitment to the promise of sociology to revolutionize how people think about social life and participate in it. Author note: Allan G. Johnson is a sociologist, writer, and trainer/consultant. He teaches at Hartford College for Women and works in major corporations and universities on issues of gender and diversity. He is author of several books including "Human Arrangements: An Introduction to Sociology", "The Blackwell Dictionary of Sociology: A User's Guide to Sociological Language", and "The Gender Knot: Unraveling Our Patriarchal Legacy" (Temple).

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Johnson's discussion is masterful." --Choice

"An inspiring resource.  I highly recommend this book." --The Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

From the Publisher

A thought-provoking and passionate account of why sociology matters that will engage and inspire students and teachers --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 216 pages
• Publisher: Temple University Press (July 25, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 156639564X
• ISBN-13: 978-1566395649
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,045,935 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Allan G. Johnson is a nationally recognized writer, novelist, and public speaker who has worked on issues of privilege, oppression, and social inequality since receiving his Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Michigan in 1972. His nonfiction writing has been translated into several languages and excerpted in numerous anthologies. His novels, The First Thing and the Last and Nothing Left to Lose, come from a lifelong devotion to the art of writing coupled with a passionate commitment to understanding what it means to be a human being in a complex world full of unnecessary suffering. He shares his life with Nora L. Jamieson, a writer, healer, and gatherer of women. They live in the hills of northwestern Connecticut.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect for an Intro Course, February 19, 2003

By 

cactus writer (Arizona, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Forest And The Trees: Sociology as Life, Practice and Promise (Paperback)

Johnson explains the sociological imagination and its importance in simple, easy to understand language. He references the major thinkers in sociology such as Mills, Marx, Mead, etc. while describing their ideas in more contemporary language. My students love reading this book prior to everything else in the course. It sets the framework for dealing with issues like gender inequality, definitions of selfhood, and the structure of institutions. Also, if you want students to read the original theories from writers like Derrida or Berger and Luckman, this is a good reference book for them if they're not sure they get the main idea.

Furthermore, Johnson's use of section headings helps students study for exams. For example, they know what the main ideas in each chapter are just by flipping through the pages. If they see a heading they can't define, then they can just re-read that section.

Because the whole book is his narration, I recommend a reader of some sort - either one you put together yourself or one from Pine Forge Press or something. I've found that students actually ENJOY applying these ideas to sociological articles.

0 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars It's very interesting., September 23, 2001

By 

Jim Mulder - See all my reviews

This review is from: Forest And The Trees: Sociology as Life, Practice and Promise (Paperback)

In the book, Dr. Johnson gives the readers a lot of examples in our daily life to make connection with the sociology. The book is not only the introduction book to the Sociology but also a reference book of it, of course, in the interesting way. It makes readers thinking in sociological way. For the people who are always curious about the world, you should read this book, 'cause the sociology will give you another answer that you've never seen before.

6 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Gushing Socialist Rubbish, June 27, 2003

By 

Robert Hayes (Colorado Springs, CO United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Forest And The Trees: Sociology as Life, Practice and Promise (Paperback)

This book is rubbish. Johnson is an interesting person and an interesting writer, but is very ignorant of economic history. He constantly makes an error common to left-leaning social scientists: he rationally assesses the reasons for non-Western cultural practices, but assumes that the equivalent practices in the West are the result of malice or ignorance, and that we should learn from our wiser cousins.

For example, he discusses how Indians have made cows sacred to their religion, and how this actually made sense even when they were starving - the cows play a key role in the cultivation of rice, and rice is much more important to the Indians than meat could be. So what looks like to an outsider as a silly practice - letting food go uneaten while people starves - is actually an example of using a religious prohibition to enforce sensible long-term thinking. But then Johnson turns to the West, and bemoans the ignorance and wickedness that causes us to eat our cows instead of their feed. He doesn't even bother to consider that American beef is not raised in the rice paddies - we don't grow much rice. Instead, we raise cattle in lands that would not support any food crops and actually end up expanding our food production rather than harming it.

This is unfortunately typical of the thinking throughout his work. I would not recommend this one to anyone who prefers critical thought to popular liberal cant.