James S. Coleman was one of a distinguished generation of sociology students who passed through the Columbia Sociology Department in the 1940s and “50s. This book critically debates his work and his contribution to society and the social sciences more generally. It consists of 18 major papers by 20 authors from six countries on a range of themes. The volume is framed by an extended editorial introduction reflecting on the five-year exchange of correspondence between James Coleman and the editor, together with two of Coleman’s own works.