George Ritzer (b. 1940) is Professor of Sociology at the University of Maryland, College Park. He has published extensively (monographs, textbooks for students, reviews, etc.). To the non-academic world, he is known for his "McDonaldization" thesis, which is described and discussed in the following books:
- George Ritzer: The McDonaldization of Society (3rd edition 2000; first published in 1993) (ISBN 0761986286). The book has been translated into 16 languages. ("The McDonaldization of Society" is already the title of an essay by Ritzer first published in the Journal of American Culture Vol.6, No.1 (Spring 1983) 100-107.)
- George Ritzer: The McDonaldization Thesis: Explorations and Extensions (1998) (ISBN 0761955402). Here, Ritzer applies his thesis to various areas such as tourism ("post-tourism", "McDisneyization") or university ("McUniversity").
- George Ritzer (ed.): McDonaldization: The Reader (2002 (ISBN 0761987673).
