Scientific Communities in the Developing World

Recent years have witnessed a fast increasing interest in the Social History of Science and Technology (S & T) in the developed world, and the trend is now catching up in other areas ofthe world, too. Obviously, it speaks ofthe growing realization of the role of S & T in social progress. Unfortunately, the actual practitioners ofscience and technology-the scientists and technologists-have lagged behind in attracting the attention ofthe historians and social scientists. This is true especially in case of the developing countries. Here, the early works were generally confined to biographies and, barring a few exceptions, the studies of scientists as a group or community are still sorely lacking. From this point of view, the book under review is indeed a welcome addition.