Review of DIY the Search for Control and Self-Reliance in the 21st Century by Kevin Wehr

Document Type

Book Review

Publication Date

10-1-2014

Publication Title

Teaching Sociology

DOI

10.1177/0092055X14545077

ISSN

1939-862X

Abstract

This book is a part of a series exploring social issues in the twenty-first century. The primary social issue addressed in this book is the lack of control that individuals feel living in a large post-industrial society. The act of doing it yourself (DIY) allows individuals to feel more in control of the world around them. The author uses a range of examples from the history of the back to the land movement to home schooling and community gardens to explore this topic. The focus on strategies for solving rather than defining a social problem allows this book a unique place in an undergraduate social problems curriculum. Its focus on applying sociological theories and concepts to real-world experiences has merit, but the narrow focus and limited sociological concepts explored reduce its utility.

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