This book review summarizes and evaluates the 13th edition of the textbook "Social Problems and the Quality of Life" by Robert and Jeanette Lauer. The review provides an overview of the textbook's 5 parts that cover topics such as deviant behaviors, inequality, social institutions, and global social problems. While finding the textbook interesting and provocative, the review notes that more could be said about the selection and reliability of data sources, and social documentation on quality of life in both local and global contexts.

1. Book Review 02
June 2015 DonaldS. Persons,Departmentof Rehabilitation,RachasudaCollege,Mahidol University
Lauer, R.H. and Lauer, J.C. (2014). Social Problemsand the Quality ofLife,13th
Edition. New York:
McGraw-Hill.
The textbook SocialProblemsand theQuality of Life by Robertand Jeanette Lauerhasprovedand
improvedit’sworthinUS sociological circlessince firstbeingpublishedin2004. The latestedition
comescomplete withclassroomdiscussionquestions,glossaryof termsand resourcesfromboththe
internetandprintedpublications. The authors’previousworkintheirmainfieldof expertise was
Marriage and Family: The Quest for Intimacy datingback to 1997. The presentvolume consistsof five
(5) parts. PartOne creates a scope forproblems,problemsof apsycho-social,interactivenature
much influencedbythe writingsof ErikErikson. The studentexploringqualityof life (QOL) in
societymustfirstdeal withaseriesof ‘fallacies’thatdistortourperceptionof realityandthenseeka
scientificmeansof exploringsocial reality.
Part Two delvesintodeviantbehaviorsof alcohol/drugabuse,crime,violence andsome formsof
sex. For example,adiscussionof the qualityof lifeof prostituteswhocome ‘disproportionatelyfrom
familiesinvolvedinphysical and/orsexual abuse,alcoholism,anduse of otherdrugs.’ It can be
arguedthat the selectionof topicsandsocial researchonthem are veryrelevantinsuburban,white
St. Louis,Missouri where the authorshave taught, they presentarealitythatmayinothercontexts
be quite different. A studyinNorthernThailandbyBusabongJuntalert(1996) arguesthat women
migrantlaborersenteredprostitutionafterexperiencinglossof statusuponreturnhome.
Nonetheless, deviance arguablyspansacrossall contexts andprostitutionisnotonlydeviant
behaviorbutrepresentsacounterculture forthe poorin Thailand.
Part Three looksat problemsof inequalityinareasof poverty,genderandrace/ethnicity. The
authorsunderstandthese asvictimizationsfrombirth,asopposedtobehavioral deviance. The
discussionof povertyinthispartgoesbeyondincome disparityto lookat the rightto dignity,the
effectsof discriminationagainstthe poor,the role of governmentinpovertyalleviationandeven
whycorporate welfare isnotstigmatized,whileotherpovertyprogramrecipientsare. Forthose of
indisabilitiesstudiesandinclusive living, whatcanbe gleanedfromthisunit? Perhapsthe
terminologyandcritique of welfare andcharityismosthelpful(autonomy,ghetto,discrimination,
subsidy),knowingthatsocietyputsobstaclesinthe wayof inclusionof personswithdisabilitiesthat
mustbe sortedintermsof rights,dilemmas,the formingof rolesof social institutionsaswell asthe
attitudesandideologiesthatmustbe confronted.
Part Four helpsusunderstandsocial institutionsof government,work,education,familyandhealth.
Missingfromthislistare technological,legal,religiousandcultural/media institutions,whichare
assumedasplayersinthe otherspheres,ratherthanas an objectof study. The perspective
presentedinthe areaof governinginstitutionslooksathow people inthe UStalkof governance.
Most interestingisthatitstarts with a strongargumentfor anarchy in whichgovernmentandlawis
abolished,usingcooperationtoachieve social ends. AlthoughmanyAmericanshave affinitytothis
sense of freedom,theygivevariousunrealisticreasonswhygovernmentisneededtoprotect

2. citizens,security,deal withinequalitiesinpowerandtoprovide asafetynetstandardfor qualityof
life. The problemsrecognizedare whygovernmentfailstofulfill anyof these roles,feeds
corruption,buildspatronage andleadstogridlock. The chapterconcludesthatAmericansmustfind
a way to holdgovernmentaccountableinall of these areas.
The final unit,global social problems recognizesproblemsof warandecologybutfailstoidentify
realisticallythe dominantrole unbridledgovernmentsandcorporate powerplayinthem. It shows
howdifficultitcanbe to connectissuesina worldfull of local sociological settings. Inthissense,
sociological principlescannotguide the discussiononglobal issueseffectively,onlydocumentsome
of the global networks. Inthis,the bookutterlyfailsbecause itdoesn’tgoback to historical sources
on previouswars. Indeed,itisinunderstandingtrendsandglobal causesandeffectswhere
historiansmustjointhe discussion,suchasthe social historian,HowardZinn,whowrote aPeople’s
Historyof the UnitedStates.(2014)
All inall,the bookis interesting,provocative andapproaches realityscientifically. More needstobe
saidabout selectionandreliabilityof datasources as well associal documentation onthe qualityof
life inbothlocal andglobal contexts.