Classics of the Social Sciences - Books on Google Play

This classic study of law and social work in action is based on the most extensive investigation of child abuse and neglect ever carried out in Great Britain. The authors followed the course of numerous cases from the first detection of ill-treatment to the resolution (or otherwise) of the problem.

Famous for coining the much-used (and often misunderstood or misused) phrase "the rule of optimism," this book is updated with an extensive Postscript from 1995 and a new, 2014 Preface that explains the uneven history of the optimism principle, in both the UK and US -- and in both social work practice and sociological scholarship.

The Organizational Weapon: A Study of Bolshevik Strategy and Tactics

The Organizational Weapon is a classic study of the methods, propaganda, and institutions which create infiltration and eventually cooptation of organizations from within. The study applies its theory to communist techniques but its analysis and insights have, over the years, become extremely useful in perceiving and combating such methods in jihadist cells, terrorist organizations, and political groups of many varieties, not only from the Left.

The book's continuing relevance and utility have been exemplified in how it has influenced, and been cited by, many current writers on how extremist and politically astute groups recruit and infiltrate more benign organizations and make them tools of further expansion of power and action. The book is also considered excellent social science and history, analyzing an important moment in U.S. history when trade organizations, community groups, and the like became affected by Soviet encroachment and Marxist influence. Its insights, from one of the country's most recognized social scientists, have stood the test of time.

The new digital reprint edition from Quid Pro Books features an extensive and substantive 2014 Foreword by Martin Krygier, a senior professor of law and social theory at the law school of the University of New South Wales, in Australia, and adjunct professor at Australian National University.

Organizational Intelligence: Knowledge and Policy in Government and Industry

The prize-winning book Organizational Intelligence focuses on the structural and ideological roots of intelligence (informational and analytical) failures in government, industry, and other institutions. It provides groundbreaking theory and structure to the analysis of decision-making processes and their breakdowns, as well as the interactions among experts and the organizations they inform. In this book, both "organization" and "intelligence" are taken to their larger meanings, not just focused on the military meaning of intelligence or on one set of institutions in society. Astute illustrations of intelligence failures abound from real-world cases, such as foreign policy (the Bay of Pigs, Soviet predictions in the Cuban missile crisis), military (civilian bombing of Germany, Pearl Harbor), financial (AmEx's investment in a vegetable oil guru), economics (the Council of Economic Advisers) and industrial production (Ford's Edsel), as well as many other telling arenas and disciplines. Economic, cultural, legal, and political contexts are considered, as well as the more known institutions of government and commerce.

The new Classics of the Social Sciences edition from Quid Pro Books features a 2015 Foreword from Neil J. Smelser, University Professor Emeritus at Berkeley and former chair of its sociology department. He writes that the book remains "one of the classics in organizational studies, and—in ways I will indicate—it is still directly relevant to current and future problems of organizational life. ... What makes this book a classic? It is a disciplined, intelligent, and elegant model of applied social science. ... The text itself, richly documented empirically, yields an informed and balanced account of the decision-making process as this is shaped by the quality of information available (and unavailable) to and used (and not used) by organizational leaders."

Reviews of the book at the time it was written similarly attest to the originality and breadth of its interdisciplinary analysis. Amitai Etzioni wrote in the American Sociological Review: "This book opens a whole new field — the macrosociology of knowledge. It is as different from the traditional sociology of knowledge as the study of interaction is from that of the structure of total societies." He adds, "The power of Wilensky's contribution is further magnified by his historical perspective. He studies structures and processes, but not in a vacuum." Gordon Craig wrote in The Reporter that the book's examples from organizations "show a similar tendency to believe what they want to believe, to become the victims of their own slogans and propaganda, and to resist or to silence warning voices that challenge their assumptions.... In his fascinating analysis of intelligence failures and their causes ... in the public and private sectors, Wilensky finds that the most disastrous miscalculations are those which have occurred in the field of governmental operations, especially foreign policy and national security." The book explains how such highly institutionalized actors are vulnerable to informational pathologies.

The new digital edition features active Contents, a fully linked Index, linked notes, and proper ebook formatting. It is a modern, quality, and authorized re-presentation of a classic work in social science and organizational studies.

Life is Like a Glass of Tea: Studies of Classic Jewish Jokes (Second Edition)

The first book on Jewish humor in which individual jokes are singled out for comprehensive study, Life is Like a Glass of Tea devotes a chapter to each of eight major jokes, tracing its history and variants—and looking closely at the ways in which the comic behavior enacted in the punchline can be interpreted. One of the unique properties of classic Jewish jokes is their openness to radically different interpretive options (having nothing to do with wordplay or double entendre). This openness to alternate interpretations—never before discussed in the literature on Jewish humor—gives classic Jewish jokes their special flavor, as they leave us wondering which of several possible attitudes we are expected to hold toward the comic figure. An additional chapter is devoted to the ways in which Jewish jokes tend to evolve over time and across language and cultural barriers. Throughout the book, in fact, one can see the processes that Jewish jokes undergo over decades as their comic potential is unfolded in successive stages, and when they are transplanted from European to American soil.

Now in its Second Edition, this expanded version adds two new chapters and new introductory material. It includes a 2015 Foreword by Marc Galanter, who notes that the author “is concerned not only with what makes jokes funny but with what makes some of them profound. His imaginative response to this puzzle makes this little book a distinctive and engaging contribution to the literature on Jewish jokes and on jokes generally.” It will appeal to the general reader, as well as to readers especially interested in Jewish culture, the psychology of humor, religion, ethnography, and folklore.

“Richard Raskin’s book on Jewish humor was the most original and useful I found in years of research on the topic. I’m delighted to see it back in print—and with added chapters!”
— Ruth Wisse
Professor Emerita, Yiddish and Comparative Literature, Harvard University
Author, No Joke: Making Jewish Humor (2013)

“A fascinating book that explores the richness of Jewish humor. Raskin offers a thought-provoking analysis of what makes Jewish humor special. Raskin merges an understanding of Jewish culture, fresh psychological insights, and a sophisticated reading of jokes and their evolution to create a gem of a book. However, it is not just an outstanding book on Jewish humor. It is an outstanding book on humor. Period. After reading it, you won’t laugh the same way again.”
— Dov Cohen
Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Illinois
Co-editor, Handbook of Cultural Psychology (2007)

Cracking Jokes: Studies of Sick Humor Cycles & Stereotypes

Insightful, surprising, controversial and thought-provoking analyses of the jokes that have been told for years ... a classic book, now in its 30th Anniversary Edition.

“No piece of folklore continues to be transmitted unless it means something—even if neither the speaker nor the audience can articulate what that meaning might be. In fact, it usually is essential that the joke’s meaning not be crystal clear. If people knew what they were communicating when they told jokes, the jokes would cease to be effective as socially sanctioned outlets for expressing taboo ideas and subjects.”
—Alan Dundes, in the Preface to CRACKING JOKES

Where there is anxiety, there will be jokes to express that anxiety. Jokes are legitimate folklore—like myths, proverbs, legends, superstitions and songs—and as such, they reflect what is on people’s minds. There has been no shortage of jokes or anxiety since the 1960s, and in this book, Alan Dundes reminds us of the jokes we have been telling, and reveals the anxiety these jokes reflect.

His interpretations are not always popular. His investigation into antisemitic jokes in Germany in the 1980s, for example, met with widespread criticism. But it is a part of society that makes a difference and should not be shielded from academic scrutiny. Dundes likens his critics to those who attack the messenger when they do not like the news. All kinds of jokes exist. He reports on what exists and applies the best methods of investigative journalism to uncover the motive and true meaning behind the jokes.

As Marc Galanter writes in the new Foreword, “A preeminent scholar of jokes, Dundes was an adventurous and prolific pioneer of the study of many realms of folklore. A tireless champion of the field, he was a major force in shifting the study of folklore from its rural and antiquarian tilt to encompass the prolific lore of modern life.… He regarded jokes not only as subject matter to be analyzed and understood in their own right, but as useful tools to uncover social and cultural patterns.” This book in particular is the culmination of these important yet understudied cultural devices. Dundes was “a deeply dedicated scholar who maintained a radiant faith that by understanding our susceptibility to the irrational we might empower ourselves to move beyond prejudice and act rationally and humanely.” The book, with the new Foreword, is republished by the independent academic press Quid Pro Books, and is finally available in digital formats. Quality ebook design includes linked notes, active contents, and legible paragraph structure for the jokes themselves.