Biography and the Sociological Imagination introduces readers to life course sociology, the imaginative framework
with which people can think about how their lives reflect the imprint of society, how this imprint reflects the
intersection of social changes and personal development, and how these processes are greatly complicated by each
person's unique location in society. Because life course sociology is an imaginative framework, Biography and the
Sociological Imagination is less about "what we know" about the life course and more about "how
to think" about changing societies and aging, Drawing from the latest research and using stories of real people,
Shanahan and Macmillan spur readers to imagine ways of organizing society and the implications of these alternatives
for the biography.