George Ritzer is Professor of Sociology at the University of Maryland. He has chaired both the Theoretical and the Organizations and Occupations sections of the American Sociological Association, and authored more than 25 books, including Expressing America: A Critique of the Global Credit Card Society (1995), The McDonaldization of Society: An Investigation into the Changing Character of Contemporary Social Life (1995), Classical Sociological Theory (second edition, 1995), and The McDonalization Thesis: Explorations and Extensions (1998).