During his lifetime, Pierre Bourdieu made an extraordinary contribution to European sociology for over 30 years.  He was cited by colleagues more than any other social scientist in the 20th century. He was Professor of Sociology at the Collège de France in Paris, and author of over 20 books including 'Distinction' and 'Homo Academicus', which have been translated from the French to the English. This book serves to introduce this important body of work to the Anglo-American world. In a cross-disciplinary collaboration Harker, Mahar and Wilkes provide the reader with the necessary tools to introduce a series of sociological masterworks. Post modernist sociology has already been influenced by the French theorist Foucault, and it is likely that the generation to come will be reading Bourdieu.