Some of the most important questions of the social sciences in the twentieth century have been posed by scholars working at the intersections of social theory and history viewed on a grand scale. The core essays of this book focus on the careers and contributions of nine of these scholars: Marc Bloch, Karl Polanyi, S. N. Eisenstadt, Reinhard Bendix, Perry Anderson, E. P. Thompson, Charles Tilly, Immanuel Wallerstein, and Barrington Moore, Jr. The essays convey a vivid sense of the vision and values each of these major scholars brings (or bought) to his work and analyze and evaluate the research designs and methods each used in his most important works. The introduction and conclusion discuss the long-running tradition of historically grounded research in sociology, while the conclusion also provides a detailed discussion and comparison of three recurrent strategies for bringing historical evidence and theoretical ideas to bear upon one another. informative, thought-provoking, and unusually practical, the book offers fascinating and relevant reading to sociologists, social historians, historically oriented political economists, and anthropologists - and, indeed, to anyone who wants to learn more about the ideas and methods of some of the best-known scholars in the modern social sciences.

Preface; 1. Sociology's historical imagination Theda Skocpol; 2. The social and historical landscape of Marc Bloch Daniel Chirot; 3. Beyond the economistic fallacy: the holistic social science of Karl Polanyi Fred Block and Margaret R. Somers; 4. Configurations in history: the historical sociology of S. N. Eisenstadt Gary G. Hamilton; 5. Theoretical generalization and historical particularity in the comparative sociology of Reinhard Bendix Dietrich Rueschmeyer; 6. Destined pathways: the historical sociology of Perry Anderson Mary Fulbrook and Theda Skocpol; 7. E. P. Thompson: understanding the process of history Ellen Kay Trimberger; 8. Charles Tilly's collective action Lynn Hunt; 9. The world system of Immanuel Wallerstein: sociology and politics as history Charles Ragin and Daniel Chirot; 10. Discovering facts and values: the historical sociology of Barrington Moore Dennis Smith; 11. Emerging agendas and recurrent strategies in historical sociology Theda Skocpol; An annotated bibliography on methods of comparative and historical sociology; Notes on the contributors.