This book is aimed largely at undergraduate and graduate students who require a single text that will introduce them not only to sociological theory but also to the sociology of sport and leisure. The book attempts to capture the breadth of sociological thinking about sport and leisure. It offers a discussion of the major sociological traditions and shows how sport and leisure have contributed to our understanding of contemporary sociological themes such as the body, globalization, social space, the environment, consumption, nationalism and social inequality.