What kind of person reads an Intro to Sociology textbook? The kind of person who is concerned that they might have to teach SOC 101 without ever having taken it. I strongly believe that textbooks should be as cheap as possible, and it's hard to beat Free and Open Source. So how does it perform?

This book has 21 chapters, covering three major theoretical approaches in sociology: functionalism, conflict theory, and symbolic interaction; and dozens of topics from family to race and social change. The book is clear and minimizes jargon, choosing broad consensus statements over sharp or controversial points. The chapters do a decent job covering the material and linking back to the theories. Each chapter has useful references, rather mediocre multiple choice questions (are there any other kind?) and some decent short discussion prompts. On areas where I have some graduate training, the medical chapter does a decent job but leans too heavily on Conrad's medicalization hypothesis, and the technology and media chapter is a mess. The book relies heavily on recent American examples, which leaves it feeling oddly dated. 2014 feels like a whole 'nother universe.

That said, Free and Open Source is a moral good for intro textbooks, I didn't find any material errors, and a strong instructor could do a lot with this book. Just don't assign the chapters straight through.