"A first rate book. . . . It is such a pleasure to read a historical work by a sociologist who goes to the primary sources."--Gert H. Brieger, M.D., The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine "Halpern has chosen a strategic research site, and has exploited it with theoretical precision, with a good sense of empirical strategy, and with exceptionally clear writing. We have learned a good deal about pediatrics, a good deal about specialization, and a great deal about the strategy of study of the origins of institutions."--Arthur L Stinchcombe, Northwestern University