Although he is arguably the most influential sociologist of the (West) German post-war period, Helmut Schelsky (1912-1984) and his work have become somewhat obscure. While his publicly impactful interpretations—from the "skeptical generation" to the "leveled middle-class society" and the "necessity of circumstances"—are still widely recognized today, the genuinely sociological contributions have increasingly faded behind the high suggestiveness of these buzzwords. This book provides a critical introduction to Schelsky's entire body of social science work for the first time, demonstrating that his quest for reality at the time contains a multitude of surprisingly relevant considerations. It is aimed at both students and scholars interested in historical, systematic, or contemporary diagnostic perspectives.