Robert King Merton

"From the names of cruise lines and bookstores to an Australian ranch and a nudist camp outside of Atlanta, the word serendipity - that happy blend of wisdom and luck by which something is discovered not quite by accident - is today ubiquitous. This book traces the word's eventful history from its 1754 coinage into the twentieth century - chronicling along the way much of wheat we now call the natural and social sciences." "The book charts where the term went, with whom it resided, and how it fared. We cross oceans and academic specialties and meet those people, both famous and now obscure, who have used and abused serendipity. We encounter a linguistic sage, walk down the illustrious halls of the Harvard Medical School, attend the (serendipitous) birth of penicillin, and meet someone who "manages serendipity" for the U.S. Navy."--BOOK JACKET.

"Social Science Quotations draws extensively upon writings that constitute the historical core of the social sciences and social thought, those works with staying power often described as the "classical texts." Both consequential and memorable, these words have been quoted over the generations, entering into the collective memory of social scientists everywhere and at times diffusing into popular thought and into the vernacular as well.". "Social Science Quotations is useful for social scientists, anthropologists, economists, historians, political scientists, psychiatrists, psychologists, sociologists and statisticians - and for all who want to learn or verify memorable formulations and phrases concerning social thought and social theories. It is particularly useful for graduate students taking courses that examine the history of their discipline."--BOOK JACKET.