Reviews
A delight to read. AGRICULTURAL HISTORY
An accessible, intelligent and useful work.... A competent and comprehensive analysis. AMERICAN HISTORICAL REVIEW
Marvelous. [.] The origins of sociology and the social survey lie as much in the English countryside as in the English town. Freeman has written an important and fascinating book. JOURNAL OF MODERN HISTORY (US)
[The book's] eclectic approach is a real delight and historians of late Victorian Britain, and all those interested in the methodology of social investigation will want to read it.... It treats the reader to a great deal of intelligent epistemological discussion. LOCAL POPULATION STUDIES
Successful in its aim to detail the methodological diversity of rural social investigation. It deserves a wide readership. AGRICULTURAL HISTORY REVIEW
This is a work of considerable achievement based on impressively thorough research. By drawing attention to this neglected wealth of material, Freeman has opened the door to fresh research into the social problems of the era. Social historians will surely find Freeman's book an invaluable reference tool. ALBION
[This book's] great contribution is to make us look again at the social investigators and their material. EHR