With a Critical Eye

Arthur Vidich's autobiography is a "must read" for anyone interested in the ideas of one of the brilliant social analysts of the 20th century.  Art's uncanny skills as a participant observer were well documented in Small Town in Mass Society and they are clearly evident in his self observations.  His autobiography is a refreshing look at a  man who touched thousands of lives and yet remained self effacing - pivoting from self to analysis to explain the evolution of his life and thoughts. 

Professor David Kettler rightly notes that, "Observation rather than theory was his me´tier." This book traces his life as the son of Slovenian immigrants through his years as a student of Hans Gerth at the University of Wisconsin and later as a student of more traditional social theorists at Harvard. Throughout his early years, Art displayed remarkable skills as an observer and gracious host that endeared him to those he worked with. His life in the South Pacific, Puerto Rico and in Japan immediately after the atomic bomb was dropped makes this book a fascinating read - even for those who are not sociologists.