From his first book, The Presentation of Self In Everyday Life (1956), to his last, Forms of Talk (1981), Erving Goffman's publications aroused interest and his ideas were widely discussed, and since 1982, when he died at the age of 60, his theories have remained current. In this study, Tom Burns provides an examination of Goffman's work. Burn's arranges Goffman's writings into a series of themes such as social order, acting out, normalization, abnormalization, grading and discrimination and realms of being, to illustrate the diversity of Goffman's preoccupations. In this way, the author avoids labelling Goffman as a micro-sociologist or symbolic interactionist. Burns shows the meaning and application of Goffman's key concepts and also guides the reader towards an understanding of the direct influences upon Goffman's thought, showing clearly, for example, how Goffman was influenced by Durkheim. This book should be of interest to students of sociology.