Social Inequality is all around us, and its impact on our lives and the social structure of the United States is unmistakable. Changes brought about by technology and globalization have affected international inequality and the socioeconomic position of the Unites States in the world. It is unavoidable that these world-wide changes now occurring will affect all of us. The sixth edition of "Social Inequality: Forms, Causes, and Consequences" is intended as a user-friendly introduction to the study of social inequality. My goal is to convey as simply, but as compellingly as I can, a sense of the pervasiveness and extensiveness of social inequality in the United States within a comparative context, to show how inequality can be explained, how it affects all of us, and what is being done about it. Charles E. Hurst