| Book Review | The American Historical Review, .

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Book Review

Canada and the United States

Sally Gregory Kohlstedt, Michael M. Sokal, and Bruce V. Lewenstein. The Establishment of Science in America: 150 Years of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Foreword by Stephen Jay Gould. New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press. 1999. Pp. xiv, 236. $35.00.

Institutional histories are usually neither engaging nor informative, focusing far too much on internal issues and far too little on external formative ones. Such is not the case with this volume. The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), commemorating its one hundred fiftieth year, has underwritten a fine institutional history that places the development of the organization squarely within the context of the times. Sally Gregory Kohlstedt (who authored an excellent account of the early years of the organization), Michael M. Sokal, and Bruce V. Lewenstein are to be commended for an interesting and informative narrative that flows well from beginning to end. 1

Throughout the book, institutional history meshes seamlessly with the development of the scientific profession in the United States. By the middle of the nineteenth century, when the AAAS was founded, academically trained scientists (mostly located in northeastern universities) were seeking to distinguish themselves from amateurs and establish some sort of control over scientific authority. For decades, the organization struggled with the definition of professionalism, with geography that inhibited truly national meetings, and with increasing specialization that pulled scientists into a growing array of discipline-specific organizations. In addition, it faced a conflict of purpose: should the organization focus on public outreach or emphasize the need for research and other support for scientists? . . .

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