ABSTRACT
Fame can, and usually does, have strange effects on sociologists: it leads either to a relaxation of personal and professional drives, in which case the sociological enterprise is done with noticeable sophistication. Becker is a close personal friend, and he would remain so, even if he were not among those very few sociologists of this century who are leaving an indelible stamp on the discipline as a whole. Sociologists will proceed with caution when describing survey research and questionnaire data as hard, and field study and life history techniques as soft. There are few forms of analysis available to the sociologist that are harder or tougher to refute than field work gleaned in interaction between investigators and investigated. For someone who has for so long been identified with the Chicago school and in general with the use of sociologism no less than sociology, Becker's heavy emphasis on personality and human choice is refreshing.
