Very few sociologists became as well-known as Arthur Vidich
and Joseph Bensman and their reputation was almost entirely cemented by their
classic work, Small Town in Mass Society, published in 1958 by Princeton
University Press. Over the last fifty
eight years, the various editions of Small Town garnered over thirty reviews in
all the major sociological, political and anthropological journals in the
United States and England. While many
residents of “Springdale” were vocal in their criticisms of the book –
especially its unflattering treatment of certain key players in its ‘invisible
government” – the academic reviewers were nearly universal in their praise for
its ground breaking treatment of how this rural community feigned the
importance of rural values and rural politics while largely seceding its
authority to larger bureaucratic institutions and governments. A sample of some of the most important
reviews of Small Town follow:
“The book did more to allay apathy in Candor than anything
in a long time. Perhaps it is just coincidence but interest in a village
election this spring shot up from the usual two dozen to 178. One thing is
certain: “walk into Candor and mention “Small Town” and you won’t get away
without a reaction. Those reactions range from horse laughs, to polite smiles
to the angry bristle of a porcupine.”
Donald Greet, Ithaca
Journal, June 13, 1958
“In its unobtrusiveness and lack of pretention, their
account reflects true theoretical sophistication. For they could not have
arrived at the interpretations they advance or even looked for the facts they
report unless they were thoroughly conversant with the class theories of Marx,
Weber, Schumpeter and Veblen, psychoanalysis
and the leading concepts of modern economic theory. It pains me to have
to report that the virtues of this book are exceptional in works by
contemporary sociologists.”
Dennis
Wrong, The New Leader, March 1958
“All high school English texts that still offer urban
students the rural picture of Thornton Wilder’s Our Town should list Small Town
as a more recent snapshot.”
Harris Dienstfrey, Commentary,
April 1958
“This book is a “must” for sociologists, anthropologists,
and social psychologists in many areas of study; also there will be no doubt be
some demand for it from the more thoughtful readers of popular non-fiction.”
Thomas Laswell, Sociology & Social Research, May/June 1958
“By studying the community as a form of social organization
in its own right and as something more than a mere setting for research, and by
utilizing an historical perspective in their analysis, Vidich and Bensman have
produced a study which this reviewer regards as the best study to date of a
rural American community.”
Gerhard Lenski, American
Sociological Review, August 1958
“This is exemplary social science community research. It is
also a tribute to the resourcefulness of the authors.”
Noel Gist, Annals of the
American Academy of Political & Social Science, Sept. 1958
“The striking dichotomy between the values and attitudes
that the people of Springdale have in relation to their own image and the
reality values and attitudes imposed upon them by the forces of the mass
society makes for an intriguing story both for the lay reader and for one with
a professional interest.”
Esther Twente, Social Service Review, September 1958
The analysis of the intricate picture of rural politics is
excellent and indicates that theories of politics based on class and interest
groups “are, at best, preliminary steps in the process of understanding the
detailed dynamics of the political situation.”
Edmund deS Brunner,
Political Science Quarterly, Sept. 1958
“The detailed description of informal and formal political
organization and the astute analysis of community organization affected by a
few generalized leaders, a number of specialized leaders, and the Protestant
churches are typical of the high quality of this work.
Mary A. Ericson, Social Forces, October 1958
Vidich and Bensman’s unique contribution lies in their
emphasis on the manner in which a community is influenced by forces beyond
itself and yet is primarily engrossed in its local concerns.
Victor Obenhaus, The Journal of Religion, October 1958
“This sociological analysis of administrative function and
individual influence in a small town is so good that it may safely be
recommended even to the layman normally distrustful of the systematic study of
society. It as captivating as a novel.”
Editorial Board, Times Literary
Supplement, November 1958
“The (book) is a readable, stimulating analysis, accessible
to the intelligent layman and valuable to the professional sociologist,
political scientist, or community relations specialist. Such is the caliber of
the study that the professional will look forward hopefully to a forthcoming
companion discussion of the methodology.”
Janice Harris, Social Research,
Winter 1958
“In its blend of structure and action analysis Small Town in
Mass Society seems to this reviewer the best community study yet produced.”
Willis
Sutton Jr., Rural Sociology, December 1958
“It is a startling contrast to find in Small Town in Mass
Society one of the most original and perspicacious community studies yet
published. The joint attention to structure and process, to the economic and
material roots of both and their psychological ramifications, the concentration
upon a few major problems – class, power, religion – has here produced a work
of exceptional caliber.”
Harold Orlans, American Anthropologist, February 1959
“As a study in depth of a typical American small town that
has lost the isolation of former days, the book is fresh, important and unique.”
RSC,
National Civic Review, April 1959
“By scrutinizing the sources and effects of false
consciousness in rural American life, Vidich and Bensman not only call into
question one of the most cherished popular illusions about American society,
they also help to preserve , with great skill and sophistication, the tradition
of radical criticism.”
Maurice Stein, The New Leader,
April 1959
“Small Town in Mass Society is an unusually attractive and
rewarding study.”
Gerhard Lenski, American Journal
of Sociology, May 1959
“This study is…. of particular interest to those who may
wonder how, in rural communities of high democratic principle, the political
‘boss’ is possible.”
J.A. Pitt-Rivers, Man, December
1959
“Vidich and Bensman firmly establish the fact that effective
power over local life rests largely outside of the community..”
J.H. Westergaard, The British Journal of Sociology, June 1961
“By its consideration of such opposing views (i.e., research
methodology), the revised edition of Small Town has earned a lasting place in
the literature on anthropological ethics.”
Arnold Pilling,
Man- New Series, March 1970
(This review of the revised edition included
the research methodology and a discussion of the ethical issues that emerged after
the book’s publication)
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