The Making of a Sociologist Between Being and Knowing

"The book is an interesting and stimulating read, and a reminder of the great contributions Goldthorpe has made to sociological research, in particular with his work on social mobility and stratification, in conceptualising and elaborating on the distinction between class and status, and in developing the notion of relative and absolute mobility [...]. In summary, this is an illuminating and insightful book. In addition to providing an account of the making of this sociologist, Goldthorpe's own life history illustrates how life courses are a product of serendipity and chance as well as conscious decisions. To what extent and in what way these decisions are shaped by the social context in which they take place is a topic of ongoing interest to all sociologists." - Judith Glaesser, Sociology

"What is the relationship between a person's research interests and their personal biography? This question lies at the heart of John H. Goldthorpe's latest book. One of the most influential British sociologists of the post-war era, Goldthorpe has shaped the study of social stratification, class, and mobility. In this work, he offers not a conventional autobiography but a sociological one, in the sense of a reflection on the development of contemporary sociology through the lens of his own life." - Filippo Barbera, European Journal of Sociology / Archives Européennes de Sociologie