Above all else this book is written for undergraduate and graduate students who over the years have asked for a single text that will introduce them not only to sociological theory, but also the sociology of sport and leisure. This book attempts to capture the breadth of sociological thinking about sport and leisure. Too often a doctrinal quality is given to particular sociological traditions of social thought. It is as if a particular theory is fully developed and all that remains is to test it against "the facts". Specialist texts have tended to champion particular traditions of thought so that the breadth and diversity of sociological traditions which are relevant in understanding sport and leisure has been under-estimated. This book attempts to transcend this situation. As well as a discussion of the major sociological traditions it also shows how sport and leisure has contributed to our understanding of contemporary sociological themes such as the body, globalization, social space, the environment, consumption, nationalism and social inequality.