Chris Phillipson is Professor of Applied Social Studies and Social Gerontology at the School of Social Relations, Keele University; Graham Allan is Professor of Sociology also at the School of Social Relations, Keele University; Professor David Morgan is Professor of Sociology within the Department of Sociology, University of Manchester.

• Contents: Introduction, Chris Phillipson, Graham Allan and David Morgan; Social networks and social exclusion: an overview of the debate, Graham Crow; Measuring social networks and assessing their benefits, James Lubben and Melanie Gironda; Social networks and social support in later life, Chris Phillipson; Networks and neighbourhoods: children's accounts of friendship, family and place, Virginia Morrow; Capturing personal communities, Ray Pahl and Liz Spencer; Cultural capital, social networks and social contexts: cultural orientations toward spare time practices in a new town, Dale Southerton; Diversity in partnership histories: implications for older adults' social integration, Pearl A. Dykstra; Social networks as mediators between the harsh circumstances of people's lives, and their lived experience of health and well-being, Vicky Cattell; Older people in urban neighbourhoods: addressing the risk of social exclusion in later life, Thomas Scharf and Allison E. Smith; Can government influence our friendships? The range and limits of tools for trying to shape solidarities, Perri 6; Community issues and social networks, Marilyn Taylor; Public policy and social networks: just how 'Socially Aware' is the policy-making process?,Vicki Nash; Bibliography; Index.

’...a comprehensive overview of debates on the contributions of interpersonal social networks to social capital and social exclusion...a landmark study for years to come.’ Professor John Scott, University of Essex, UK ’Social Networks and Social Exclusion is an important and thought-provoking collection that adds substantially to the current debates over networks and exclusion...the combination of theoretical, empirical and policy debate is admirable, and the quality of individual chapters is uniformly high. The book as a whole will appeal to a range of social policy specialists, while providing an accessible introduction in the particular areas covered by each chapter for postgraduate and other students.’ Social Policy