Merton. It has been translated into close to 20 languages and is one of the most frequently cited texts in social sciences. It was first published in 1949, although revised editions of 1957 and 1968 are often cited. In 1998 the International Sociological Association listed this work as the third most important sociological book of the 20th century.The book introduced many important concepts in sociology, like: manifest and latent functions and dysfunctions, obliteration by incorporation, reference groups, self-fulfilling prophecy, middle-range theory and others.

    

    In all his incarnations from the time when, hardly human, he is roaming primeval forests to when he dashes up the steps of a New York hotel dressed only in a monocle, he is seen struggling against the false conventions of civilisation that seek to bind him and limit him in his remorseless desires. Through the years he meets with many of the famous and the infamous of history. "The Invincible Adam" is part of a greater, and more ambitious saga of human passion. Anyone who desires to understand the larger pattern upon which the story is fashioned must acquaint himself with "My First Two Thousand Years" and "Salome, the Wandering Jewess."