Dr. Kenneth Allan

Professor, Sociology

The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life
by Emile Durkheim

Durkheim's "Elementary Forms" is the single most important book in my career as a sociologist and life as a social being. In it he presents a theoretical explanation of the origins of categories of thought and consciousness, as well as religion and human reality. It's a true classic in every sense of the word. In the many, many times I've read it, I've never failed to take away something new, something vital.