I began university as a psychology major. I had never even heard of sociology. But then, I made my discovery. A discipline where you could study families, teenagers, television shows, popular music, crime, and white supremacists-wow! Who could have ever believed that learning could be so interesting? Sociology grabbed me and has never let me go. Going on to obtain my Master of Arts and my Doctorate in sociology, I''ve since studied all sorts of interesting topics-adult and adolescent series romance novels (e.g. Harlequin, Sweet Valley High), what being a "real man" means in Young Adult novels for boys, and the medicalization of women''s lives in magazine advertising. Popular culture, deviance and youth fascinate me. Along with my love of sociology, I have a love for teaching undergraduate students. I had my first opportunity to give a university lecture as a teaching assistant while working on my Master''s degree. My supervisor had to be away, and asked me to lecture in his social organization class, with 180 students. As someone who had always hated giving presentations in class, I was terrified. But 10 minutes into my lecture, I knew that was what I wanted to do with my life. I''ve since taught courses ranging from deviance to social psychology, with class sizes as small as four and as large as 400. The pleasure I derive from connecting with students has also led me to writing textbooks-first, a book on deviance and social control, and now this book, one that will bring the fascinating world of sociology to those students who, like me, may have never even heard of sociology.