Sorokin (1889-1968) rose from a peasant childhood in Russia to become one of the most erudite, insightful, and critical figures in the history of sociology. He was, however, considered both a pioneer and an outcast.
His early American works opened new vistas in rural sociology, social stratification, and theory. They provided an elegant standard for scientific sociology and won him the founding chairmanship of sociology at Harvard University. A continuous innovator, he next explored the vast expanse of human affairs, and outlined the surfacing crisis of modernity. At the Harvard Research...

Pitirim A. Sorokin (1889-1968) was one of the most original, important, and controversial figures in American sociology. His spectacular rise from a peasant childhood in Czarist Russia to the Olympian heights of Harvard University provides an unlikely and fascinating lens for examining the history of an entire discipline. And, as Barry Johnston shows, his equally dramatic fall from favor and unexpected resurrection illuminate both Sorokin's life and the tempestuous world of academic politics.

An outspoken revolutionary and secretary to Alexander Kerensky, Sorokin was imprisoned and...