Practical Reason: On the Theory of Action

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Introduction to a Prolific Writer
Review: A difficulty with approaching such a prolific author as Bourdieu is determining where one should begin reading. This short, 150-page book composed of mostly lectures and concise essays serves as an excellent beginning to not only gaining a grasp of the key ideas put forth by Bourdieu..., but also, insofar as Bourdieu throughout the work is reviewing a lifetime of sociological writing, it serves as an excellent topical mapping of his previous works giving small tastes of previous studies on Kabylia, Distinction, Homo Academicus, etc. While there are moments when the brevity of treatment makes for a meager argument, I would nonetheless recommend this book to anyone with a desire to begin exploring the works and ideas of Bourdieu.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Introduction to a Prolific Writer
Review: A difficulty with approaching such a prolific author as Bourdieu is determining where one should begin reading. This short, 150-page book composed of mostly lectures and concise essays serves as an excellent beginning to not only gaining a grasp of the key ideas put forth by Bourdieu..., but also, insofar as Bourdieu throughout the work is reviewing a lifetime of sociological writing, it serves as an excellent topical mapping of his previous works giving small tastes of previous studies on Kabylia, Distinction, Homo Academicus, etc. While there are moments when the brevity of treatment makes for a meager argument, I would nonetheless recommend this book to anyone with a desire to begin exploring the works and ideas of Bourdieu.

Rating:
Summary: Best Introduction to Bourdieusian Thought Available
Review: It's not very often that an author is able to take a highly complex set of work(s) and summarize them into an easily read and understood piece. While the overviews offered by scholars of Bourdieu, such as Swartz's _Culture and Power_ or Bourdieu and Wacquant's _Invitation to Reflexive Sociology_ prove a broad overview of Bourdieu's work, they generally require that the reader be well versed in the specifics of Bourdieusian analysis to be able to take full advantage of them. In _Practical Reason_, Bourdieu provides a comprehensive overview of his major ideas, including field, habitus, capital, and reflexivity. He does this without weighting his writing down by citing himself constantly (the difficulty with Swartz) or by bogging himself down in long and confusing questions posited by the analysis of an Other (the difficulty with _Invitation_).
Instead, Bourdieu offers a clearer invitation. Rather than being placed into the position of an outside observer who is being addressed as the Third Person - the audience member - in _Practical Reason_ Bourdieu engages in an exposition of his idea, with you as the only audience member. Not only is this more comfortable to read than being placed into the position of the voyeur of others' conversation, but it also allows a direct interaction with the author.
Another aspect that makes this text an enjoyable introduction is that unlike _Outline of a Theory of Practice_ (the usual entry to Bourdieu) or _The Logic of Practice_, there is much less ethnography to transport the reader into a confusion of cultural (mis)understanding. Of course, for readers who are used to Bourdieu's complex sentences and are familiar with his theory, the lack of direct application may be frustrating, as _Practical Reason_ does not range far beyond theoretical exposition.
However, for first time students and readers who may wish to know more about the ideas of one of France's (and the world's) leading sociological minds, this book is the most comprehensive and understandable introductions available.