The Sociology of Science: Theoretical and Empirical Investigations

The exploration of the social conditions that facilitate or retard the search for scientific knowledge has been the major theme of Robert K. Merton’s work for 40 years. This collection of papers [is] a fascinating overview of this sustained inquiry… . There are very few other books in sociology … with such meticulous scholarship, or so elegant a style. This collection of papers is, and is likely to remain for a long time, one of the most important books in sociology.