No one was better at turning everyday social interactions into memorable comedy sketches than Seinfeld creators Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David. The show, still very current in syndication, is filled with astute social observations delivered with great comic effect.

Sociologist, and avid Seinfeld fan, Tim Delaney explores the sociological implications of the famous comedy show in Seinology. Part sociology primer and part Seinfeld tribute, Delaney’s book uses excerpts from many of the now-classic episodes to illustrate key facets of sociology. Along the way, readers are treated to an entertaining and educational tour of the whole Seinfeld series. In fifteen chapters, amusingly titled after some of the shows famous incidents, Delaney reviews the major contributions of sociology. Examples include: · "Tub is love." (socialization and personal relationships) · "Not that there is anything wrong with that." (sex and gender issues) · "You double-dipped the chip!" (social deviance) · "Happy Festivus: a festival for the rest of us." (religion) · "Look to the cookie, Elaine." (race and ethnicity) · "You don’t have to help anybody. That’s what this country’s all about." (crime and social control) · "Yada, yada, yada." (and much, much more)

For sociologists looking for a unique way to introduce their students to the field, for high school students or undergraduates taking their first sociology course, and for every Seinfeld fan, Seinology is both educational and a fun read.

In new condition. I was very pleased with it since I was giving it away as a Christmas gift.

For anyone interested in knowing what sociology is all about, this book serves as an excellent introduction. Using episodes of "Seinfeld" to illustrate the main areas of sociology, it demonstates that this was a show about everything, rather than nothing. Just how many seats at a movie theater should one be able to save? Only "Seinology" knows for sure.

Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David's syndicated show SEINFELD succeeds in large part because it's packed with social observations blended with comedy. The effect is hard-hitting and fun, and here in SEINOLOGY: THE SOCIOLOGY OF SEINFELD, sociology professor Tim Delaney examines how these social observations work. Chapters consider key facets of sociology and how they relate to Seinfeld shows, using chapters titled after some of the show's famous incidents to illustrate. A top pick for college-level sociology courses which wish to connect to student interests and experiences to teach or introduce the field of sociology.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

I thought Seinology was a great book. If you do not know alot about sociology it helps you learn several different topics covered by sociologists and puts it into an example from which you can understand the topic. Giving the descriptions from Seinfeld helps the reader put everything together, and lets you think of examples in our own everyday lives where you can relate. It is funny to read the examples that Delaney gives in his book from Seinfeld. Not being a big veiwer of the show, after reading the book, I wanted to go rent every season.

The Publishers Weekly review is spot on. Half-baked quasi-thoughts from the discipline's yeasteryear, combined with troublingly absurd prognostications, won't do much to satisfy sociologists or introduce you to the discipline. The mediocre plot summaries are buttressed by more detail about the show's 186 episodes than PW admits, and about which Delaney clearly knows a great deal, but there's not enough new or interpretative to do much for Seinfeld fans. The combined weaknesses will simply frustrate anyone who is BOTH a sociologist AND a Seinfeld fan.

If you want to be the master of your domain, either disciplinarily or zeitgeistian, you'd do as well (nay, better) to find plot summaries online, open to a random page in any Sociology textbook, and discover or invent connections on your own. It'd be cheaper, more fun, more social, and (since Delaney's Sociology is somewhat shallow, and his Seinology sometimes overbearing) more educational.

I suspect that the book will sell well as a function of its title, despite the arguable poverty of its content. Maybe Delaney's snickering like Neuman, or maybe he's as incomplete as Kramer. But if you fancy yourself as having a fraction of Jerry's clarity, perception, and/or frugality, keep on shopping - IMHO, this isn't it.

OTOH, if you crave for more of a show eight years passed its cancellation (and the outtakes on DVD releases simply aren't enough) and/of if you don't know anything Sociology and want to pretend that you do without actually learning much about it, there are clearly those (see other reviews, here and elsewhere) who've found value in this volume - not that there's anything wrong with that, just that there's not clearly something right about it, either.