Why?

"Readers will find this book stimulating, amusing, enlightening, and engaging. The veteran analyst of political conflict and change has shifted the scale and style of his analysis once again. The result is a tour de force."—Viviana Zelizer, Princeton University

"Impressive in scope and ambition, in the breadth of knowledge from which it draws, in its shrewd and careful use of Tilly's own experiences in public and scholarly life as well as in illness, in its acute observations in the materials it uses, and not least in the clear non-technical prose in which everything is presented."—Howard S. Becker, author of Tricks of the Trade

Publishers Weekly

Frustrated that his explanations of contemporary phenomena-which emphasized incremental effects and complex social interactions-often failed to convince people, Columbia sociologist Tilly decided to write this odd but intermittently charming analysis of the reasons people use to explain events or behavior. He lists four basic types of reasons: conventions (socially accepted clich s like "My train was late," or "We're otherwise engaged that evening"), stories (simplified cause-effect narratives), codes (legal, religious) and technical accounts (complicated narratives, often impenetrable to nonspecialists). He demonstrates that our social relations dictate the kind of reason we invoke in a given circumstance. For instance, we offer more elaborate rationales for our behavior-stories, rather than conventions-to those close to us. We invoke codes with individuals whom we have power over, but not those who have power over us. But these insights, which he acknowledges are hardly original, also seem beside the point. Tilly's true interest lies in how social scientists can make their theories accessible and persuasive. Using Jared Diamond and terrorism expert Jessica Stern as examples of specialists who have successfully popularized their ideas, Tilly reaches the unsurprising conclusion that experts may need to simplify or narrow the scope of their accounts in order to reach the public. The result is an uneven little book-occasionally arresting, sometimes irritatingly random. (Apr.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Charles Tilly (1929-2008) was the Joseph L. Buttenwieser Professor of Social Science at Columbia University. His work focused on large-scale social change and its relationship to contentious politics, especially in Europe, since 1500. His many books include "The Politics of Collective Violence; Contention and Democracy in Europe, 1650-2000; Social Movements, 1768-2004; Economic and Political Contention in Comparative Perspective ", coedited with Maria Kousis; "Identities, Boundaries, and Social Ties; Trust and Rule; Regimes and Repertoires; Democracy;" and "Credit and Blame" (Princeton).