Edited by William C. Cockerham, Professor of Sociology, Medicine and Public Health and Chair of the Department of Sociology, University of Alabama, Birmingham, US

• Part 1 Sociological theory and health: the sociological relevance of chronic illness, Uta Gerhardt; Max Weber, formal rationality and health lifestyles, William C. Cockerham et al; a critical theory of medical discourse - ideology, social control and the processing of social context in medical encounters, Howard Waitzkin; ageing, status politics and sociological theory, Bryan S. Turner. Part 2 Social factors and disease: socioeconomic status and health - how education, income and occupation contribute to risk facts for cardiovascular disease, Marilyn A. Winkleby et al; acculturation and symptoms - a comparative study of reported health symptoms in three Samoan communities, Joel M. Hanna and Maureen H. Fitzgerald; depression among the homeless, Mark La Gory et al; uncertainty and the lives of persons with AIDS, Rose Weitz; migrant labour and sexually transmitted disease, AIDS in Africa, Charles W. Hunt; HIV transmission through social and geographical networks in Uganda, Christine Obbo. Part 3 Social demography: the patterning of health by social position in contemporary Britain - directions for sociological research, Sally Macintyre; chronic illness over the life course - class inequalities among men and women in Britain, Sara Arber; the effects of women's employment - personal control and sex differences in mental health, Sarah Rosenfield. Part 4 Social stress: the sociological study of stress, Leonard I. Pearlin; low status control, high effort at work and ischaemic heart disease - prospective evidence from blue-collar men, Johannes Siegrist et al. Part 5 Health behaviour: the image of health - variations in perception by social class in a French population, A. d'Houtaud and Mark G. Field; social stratification and health lifestyles in two systems of health care delivery - a comparison of the United States and West Germany, Cockerham, William C. et al; fitness and the postmodern self, Barry Glassner. Part 6 Illness behaviour: reshaping of self - a pendular reconstruction of self and identity among adults with traumatic spinal cord injury, Karen K. Yoshida; life mirrors work mirrors text mirrors life..., Marianne A. Paget; self-care - Japan and the US compared, Marie R. Haug et al. Part 7 Alternative medicine. Part 8 Health professions and occupations. Part 9 Hospitals. Part 10 Health care delivery and social change. (Part contents)

'Cockerham has been very successful . . . as he has brought together a range of articles which demonstrate the richness and diversity of research and theory currently within medical sociology. Overall, this book will be a valuable resource to those working in the area . . . it does offer an accessible and interesting overview of many key issues and debates within medical sociology. It furthermore familiarises the reader with the range of theories and methods used in this sub-discipline and illustrates the importance of comparative work. The real strength of the book appears to be its ability to interest readers from varied perspectives and thus provide them with an opportunity to consider how they might contribute themselves to the development of the field.'