Laboratory Life

vailing political tone. Significantly, there is no theory of politics to account for these patterns, and the shifting trends do not leave us with much grounds for clear long-term extrapolation. It does look, though, as if a pretty serious ideological confrontation could be building up. On the prospects of sociological theory being able to predict the future, at any rate, I see no reason to be pessimistic. What we need is at least a few sociologists to pull back from the polemics and the purely descriptive data-gathering,andmakeasustained effort to build theory around relevant topics. I think it can and will be done, although this is not the place to explain why. Finally, I have to mention the chapter by Andrew Greeley on American Catholicism. This chapter is an exception to most of what I was just saying. It says nothing, really, aboutthefuture,andthereisnotheory in it either. Greeley’s is principally a topical account of recent events in the papacy and in church politics, and the reaction of American Catholics to them. But it is as lively and informed an account of these matters as I have seen, a wonderful combination of insider’s political info with sophisticated techniques of data analysis. It is a fascinating piece of writing, and Greeley’s virulent involvement in all this adds to its steam. Some of the personal footnotes are almost worth the price of the book.