Sociologist and avid "Seinfeld" fan, Tim Delaney explores what sociologists and all interested readers can learn about themselves and their society from this tremendously popular sitcom. His work represents a fascinating blend of popular and contemporary culture with the keen observations of a scholar trained to assess social behavior. Delaney uses excerpts from many of the now-classic episodes to illustrate key facets of social interaction. In fifteen chapters, amusingly titled after some of the show's famous incidents, he reviews what its characters teach us about ourselves and the complex...

Why do billions of people around the world love sports? The popular media is increasingly dedicated to the heated rivalries of sports teams, academic institutions are held in its thrall, sports metaphors are commonplace in our language, and most individuals participate in athletics or follow a team sport in some variation. This entertaining and informative book attempts to find out why--by examining sports in all its facets. The authors provide an overview of the history of sports, with a constant focus upon the social conditions through which sport arises and by which it continues to...

This "philosophical" look at friendship and happiness begins with a review of Aristotle's three categories of friendship - friends of utility, friends of pleasure and friends of the good. Modern variations - casual friends, close friends, best friends - are described, along with the growing phenomena of virtual friendships and cyber socialization in the Internet age.