This lucidly written, jargon-free text offers an account of the rise of sociological thought from its origins in the eighteenth century. Beginning with the classical sociology of Marx, Durkheim, Weber and Simmel, it goes on to examine the modern paradigms of functionalism, interactionism, structuralism and critical Marxism, and ends by discussing salient contemporary sociological theory, including the theories of Foucault, Baudrillard, Giddens, Habermas and others. Systematic and comprehensive, this is a text that critically engages with sociological theory throughout its development, offering students a path through competing traditions and perspectives that brings out the distinctive value and limitations of these.