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BookReviews 541
Historical Sociology. By Philip Abrams.
Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1983. Pp. xviii+353. $29.95 (cloth)-
$1 1.95 (paper) .
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542 Book Reviews
and Max Weber.I foundthese readablebut unexciting, as I did the chapterson
functionalismand argumentsaboutthe convergenceof nationsundergoingin-
dustrialdevelopment.Muchmoreunusualare two chapters(8 and9) thatargue
that such "microsociological"problemsas individualidentityandthe analysis
of careersare most fruitfullyhandledat the intersectionsof social psychology
and the histories of generationsand institutions.
Chapter6 surveys major comparative-historicalworks on the formationof
political systems or states; PerryAnderson'sLineages of the AbsolutistState
(London, 1974); S. M. Lipset and Stein Rokkan'santhologyon Party Systems
and VoterAlignments(New York, 1967); BarringtonMoore'sSocial Originsof
DictatorshipandDemocracy(Boston, 1966);andS. N. Eisenstadt'sThePolitical
Systemsof Empires(Glencoe, Ill., 1963). Abramsfindsvalue andfaultin all of
these attemptsto integratehistoryandsocial theory.Yet, provocativelyenough,
he argues that Eisenstadt'sbook, a ponderouslywrittentome usually disliked
by historians and antifunctionalistsociologists, is the most successful of the
four. At otherpointsin HistoricalSociology, AbramspraisesFernandBraudel's
TheMediterranean (London,1973), andI thinkthe breadthandopen-mindedness
of his perspectiveis nicely conveyedby his ability to appreciatebothEisenstadt
and Braudelat once.
Three chapters (1, 7, and 10) of Historical Sociology contain the core of
Abrams's epistemological and substantiveargument,and a readerin a hurry
mightcontenthimselfwiththese alone. Chapter7 on "ExplainingEvents" main-
tainsthatsociologistsas well as historiansmustmakesenseof eventsandtemporal
sequencesandarguesthatbothsortsof scholarsdeal, not withconcretehappenings
in all of theirpossible detail, but with happeningswhose significantaspects are
constructedwith an eye to what needs to be explained. Books and articles on
riots, revolutions, andrebellions are probedto illustratethese points.
Perhapsthe best chapterin Historical Sociology, chapter10, includes some
very telling commentson the "new quantitativehistory" and on qualitative,
anecdotalhistoriesof mentalites.Mostmemorablehere,however,is thediscussion
of Geoffrey Elton's heroic attemptto purge sociological analysis from histo-
riographyand defendthe explanatoryadequacyof sheer narrativestorytelling.
Illustratinghis argumentwith examplesfromElton's own bookon Reformation
Europe(London,1963), Abramsmaintainsthatnarrativehistoryat its best weaves
"into the textureof the story a greatdeal of interpretiveand analyticalmatter
which is not properlypart of the story at all althoughvital for its persuasive
allure" (p. 308). Aesthetically, the result may be very pleasing, and a narra-
tive form of presentationis certainlythe best way to convey the unfoldingof
actions and theirconsequencesover time. But ';an integrationof narrativeand
analysis. . . canneverbe fullyaccomplished," andanyattemptto buryexplanatory
argumentsin narrativebecomes, in the end, simplyaneffort "to protectanalysis
from the critical readingappropriateto it" (p. 309). Historiansdisagree with
one anotheraboutwhich "structuralconditions"lie behindand help to pattern
the actions they narrate.Thus good history should be sociological enough to
make explicit its own theoreticaldesign, opening the way for honest and full
debate. |
Historical Sociology is unlikely to convince sociologists or historiansto blur
their distinct disciplines into one. It may, nevertheless,succeed in persuading
thoughtfulpeoplein the two disciplinesof theiroverlappingexplanatory concerns,
thusfacilitatingdialoguesthatgo well beyondthemereswappingof methodological
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Book Reviews 543
techniques.If so, PhilipAbrams'shopesforhis bookwill be substantially
realized,
and scholarshipin the humansciences will be the betterfor it.
THEDA
SKOCPOL
University of Chicago
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