By way of introduction to this fascinating book, let me highlight two of its many contributions. First, it is a good example of something all too rare in sociology: testing competing general theories. Most of us either try to develop or refine theories about how the social world works, and cite convenient data as support, or we select and collect data that will fit some general theoretical position. In the first case, the data playa subor­ dinate role-bits of evidence for our view of life. In the second, the theory plays a subordinate role-a way to make sense of the social behavior we have observed. McCaffrey's position subsumes these two. He has gathered data on an important social agency, but with an im­ plicit problem in mind: which of the several theories about the social world he was exposed to in graduate school would do the best job of interpreting the data? Or, we might just as well turn it around. In a graduate department such as Sociology at the State University of New York at Stony Brook, there is a lively, never ending debate about the "truth" of competing perspectives on the political and social world. By selecting a data base and remaining alert to the kind of evidence each theory required, McCaffrey circumvented the usual" data for a theory" vs. "a theory for the data" dilemma that most of us live with.

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1: Perspectives on Government Regulation.- 1.1. Views of Regulation.- 1.1.1. Pluralism.- 1.1.2. The Capitalist State Perspective.- 1.1.3. An Organizational Perspective on Regulation.- 1.2. Outline of the Book.- 2: Occupational Disease: Magnitude and Issues of the Problem.- 2.1. Scope of the Problem.- 2.2. Issues in Occupational Disease.- 2.2.1. Does the Substance Cause Cancer?.- 2.2.2. Is There a Safe Level of Exposure to the Substance?..- 2.2.3. How Is Exposure to the Substance To Be Controlled?.- 2.3. Summary.- 3: Political and Economic Factors in Occupational Health Work.- 3.1. Factors Encouraging Toxic Substance Control.- 3.1.1. There Is an Influential Social Reform Sector.- 3.1.2. The Link between the Professional Reform Sector and Activist Congressional Staffs.- 3.1.3. The GAO as an Institutionalized Federal Critic of Lagging Regulatory Action.- 3.1.4. Agency Bureaucrats Do Some Autonomous Regulating.- 3.1.5. Federal Courts Give Considerable Weight to an Agency's Interpretations and Judgments.- 3.1.6. Evidence of Effects: The Costs of Health Regulation..- 3.2. Factors Discouraging Chemical Control.- 3.2.1. Limited Union Commitment to Occupational Health.- 3.2.2. Employee Reaction to Toxic Substances.- 3.2.3. Projecting Workers' Reactions.- 3.2.4. Managerial Response to Suspected Health Problems.- 3.2.5. Control of Resources.- 3.2.6. Pressure for Cost-Benefit Analysis of Regulations.- 3.3. Summary.- 4: Procedures of and Predictions about OSHA.- 4.1. Regulatory Procedures: The Administrative Procedures Act and the Value of Rational Participation.- 4.1.1. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.- 4.1.2. OSHA's Health Standards.- 4.2. What Do the Perspectives on Regulation Imply?.- 4.2.1. Pluralism.- 4.2.2. The Capitalist State View.- 4.2.3. The Organizational Perspective.- 5: OSHA's Chemical Regulations, 1970-1976.- 5.1. OSHA's Activity.- 5.1.1. Asbestos.- 5.1.2. Certain Carcinogens.- 5.1.3. Pesticides.- 5.1.4. Vinyl Chloride.- 5.1.5. Coke Oven Emissions.- 5.1.6. OSHA's Early Treatment of the Economic Impact of Standards.- 5.1.7. A Regulatory Slowdown.- 5.2. A Brief Evaluation of OSHA's Early Activity.- 5.2.1. Pluralism.- 5.2.2. The Organizational Perspective.- 5.2.3. The Capitalist State View.- 6: OSHA's Regulations After 1976.- 6.1. The New Administration.- 6.1.1. Benzene.- 6.1.2. Dibromochloropropane (DBCP).- 6.1.3. Acrylonitrile.- 6.1.4. Inorganic Arsenic.- 6.1.5. Cotton Dust.- 6.1.6. Lead.- 6.1.7. Chemical Labeling.- 6.1.8. Generic Policy for Carcinogens.- 6.2. Summary of OSHA's Health Regulation and some Generalizations.- 6.3. OSHA's History and Views of Regulation.- 7: Service Activities.- 7.1. Employee Notification.- 7.2. The Health Hazard Evaluation Program.- 7.3. The Inspection Program.- 7.4. The Impact of Occupational Health Assistance.- 7.5. Service Issues and the Perspectives on Regulation.- 8: Regulatory Balance.- 8.1. The Current Argument: Excessive Regulation.- 8.1.1. The "Three Faces of the Problem".- 8.1.2. Reforms.- 8.2. The Problem of Balance: Another View.- 8.2.1. Agencies as Technicians.- 8.2.2. The Backlash against Independence.- 8.2.3. Agency Independence and Policy Debates.- 8.3. Consequences of Diminished Regulation.- 8.3.1. Costs of Controls and Innovation.- 8.3.2. Benefits.- 8.3.3. Product Liability Suits.- 8.3.4. Mobilized Liberal Pressures.- 9: Postscript.- 9.1. The Regulatory Impact Analysis Program.- 9.2. Stopping OSHA.- Appendix: Grover Wrenn Affidavit on Health Standards Process (Summary).- References.