ABSTRACT
Writing about America is a veritable Rorschach test. What an author chooses to write about says much. Selecting the big theme indicates expectations no less than intelligence. The need for order is seen as consonant with the prospects for democratic community. Unlike most mainline sociological efforts, the book unabashedly discusses the significant issues in a politically alert manner. The field of sociology is in a state of crisis: orientations are fragmented without scientific rationale, and declining academic enrollments translate into fewer opportunities for teachers and researchers. The Last Half-Century outlines some extremely important trends within American society and does so without the exaggerations common in popular literature and in some current sociology, as well. Janowitz makes it quite clear that political participation in the United States has remained stable. Janowitz tends to feel that the gap between economic facts and political sentiment partially results from the militarization of American society and the bureaucratization of its political system.
