G. H. Mead is rightly considered to be one of sociologys founding fathers yet to date there have been surprisingly few books devoted to his life and work. This book fills the gap by introducing Meads ideas to a younger generation of social scientists. Beginning with a biographical account of the main events in Mead s career Filipe Carreira da Silva provides a thorough examination of Mead s social theory of the self the reception of his ideas into sociology and the relevance of his work to the contemporary social sciences. He focuses in detail on the core ideas associated with Mead s work including gesture and the significant symbol the Ime distinction and the generalized other as well as exploring less well-known aspects of his writing. This comprehensive introduction to Mead s thinking will appeal to students across the social sciences providing a refreshing perspective on the social nature of the individual self.