How do social class, race-ethnic, and gender differences promote social inequality in our everyday lives? "Life of the Party" begins with a family birthday celebration as a prelude to examining several other party contexts -- tailgates of college football and race car fans, home sales gatherings of tool-buying women, as well as parties fueled by the religious fervour of professional sports owners and the political protests of disenfranchised citizens. What is revealed is the social inequality grounded in social class, racial-ethnic and gender differences accompanying and permeating the party atmosphere. Social unrest and dissatisfaction, as well as our continuous search for sociability and community, are all found to be present as well-springs of the party as carnival. This book will be of value to students of society, professional and amateur alike, interested in understanding the complicated interplay between social stability and social change.