Students approaching sociology for the first time often wonder whether it is really relevant to their lives. This brief introduction to the field leaves little room for doubt. The authors challenge readers to think seriously about the choices they will face in education, career, marriage, parenting, and other important dimensions of life. Popular ideology emphasizes that we can–and should–get what we want from life. Yet the research highlighted in this book shows that most of us do not get what we want, settling instead for what we can get. How our choices are shaped and limited by the...