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Title: An Impressive Accomplishment
Review: Contrary to another Amazon reviewer, I didn't find the prose boring, even if one expects little from a reference work like this. Indeed, it could have been dry as hay. But Smith crafts a convincing narrative out of his materials, no small feat in a work of this length. In its scope and balance, this work is too impressive to be given just two stars. Instead, I think the following conclusion from a review in The Journal of Interdisciplinary History is more on target: "Yet, in spite of the daunting nature of his task, Smith must be judged overall to have written a successful synthetic treatment of his many-faceted subject. The writing is compelling and often sparkling. The thinking is always informed. This is a book that serves many functions: It should be a standard reference, a work that one dips into for the sheer pleasure of reading bits and pieces, and an essential study of the problems underlying a history of the human sciences."
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