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Book Review: Edwin Amenta Professor Baseball: Searching for Redemption and the Perfect Lineup on the Softball Diamonds of Central Park Chicago, IL: Chicago University Press, 2007, $25.00 hbk (ISBN: 978 0 226 01666 5), 231 pp

significance of the state in the context of medical research, Epstein’s analysis shows how the state is a key target for social movements and advocacy organizations and the powerful and pivotal role that it plays as a major funder and regulator of medical research. Therefore, this book provides an important ‘corrective’ of sorts, reminding us of the significant role that the state still plays in contemporary biopolitics. Throughout, Epstein tries to take an even-handed approach but he is critical of the new policies and their potential consequences. One worthy of mention here is how the policies of inclusion and difference privilege certain categorical identities such as women, children, racial and ethnic group and not others (such as lesbian, gay or bisexual, which Epstein points out have been less successful in gaining recognition as politically or scientifically valid identities to be targeted by inclusion policies). Another consequence is that the privileging of identification marginalizes the significance of other important determinants of health and illness such as behaviour, social class or environmental living conditions. Therefore, as Epstein suggests, there is a major concern that policies which concentrate on biological difference will divert attention from researching the effects of long-standing social inequalities. The book is decidedly weaker when Epstein turns his attention away from events in the USA and considers their international significance. He anticipates that the US approach to these matters is certain to have a strong impact on practices elsewhere but has little to support that assertion. He cites that certain inclusionary policies have now been followed in Canada, but is less clear about the situation elsewhere. In fact, some in the UK have been calling for a US-style approach and Epstein’s book holds some important lessons for UK social scientists, medical researchers, and policymakers. My only major criticism of this book is that perhaps as a consequence of its focus on the USA, it does not pay adequate attention to how scholars outside of the USA, especially in the UK, have contributed to debates about ethnicity and health. However, overall, the book is the product of impressive scholarship and speaks to a number of sociological interests in areas ranging from regulation, social movements and identity politics, to the governance and conduct of contemporary medical research.