Suicide

Suicide is an essay by Émile Durkheim, first published in 1897 and written in French. It is a sociological study of suicide as a social fact, not just as an individual or psychological issue. Durkheim uses the topic to show how a social phenomenon can be examined through institutions, group life, and the way society is organized.

This book suits readers interested in sociology, the history of social thought, and the method of building an argument from a single case study. It is focused and analytical, with a strong emphasis on how social conditions shape human behavior. If you want a theoretical work that treats a difficult subject through the lens of society rather than the individual alone, this is a natural fit for early sociological writing.