The Institutions of Advanced Societies was first published in 1958. By perceiving the similarities and differences between various societies, social scientists are better able to understand the complexities of social structure itself. This volume makes a substantial contribution to the field of comparative sociology by providing sociological descriptions and analyses of ten contemporary, advanced societies chosen from a wide geographic and cultural range. Most of the contributing authors are native residents of the societies they describe, and all except one are primarily sociologists. In an introductory chapter, Arnold M. Rose, the editor, discusses the methods, problems, and values of a comparative study of social institutions. He draws some conclusions from the material presented in the volume but points out that this task is far from complete. It is hoped that this book will stimulate further studies of this kind so that research can go forward in the comparative study of modern societies. The countries considered for analysis include: the United Kingdom, Australia, Finland, Poland, Yugoslavia, Greece, Israel, France, Brazil, and the United States.