This book is a collective biography of the Ōuchi group, Ōuchi Hyōe (1888–1980), and his five students, Arisawa Hiromi, Ōmori Yoshitarō, Wakimura Yoshitarō, Takahashi Masao, and Minobe Ryōkichi. They were prominent public intellectuals and leading economists of the time, who played leading roles in shaping public opinions and economic policy in postwar Japan (except for Ōmori, who died in 1940). Hein's book is a readable biography of these remarkable men, a well-written history of social science, and a very sophisticated piece of Japanese studies. The book is, however, much more. It is about historical memory and relations between expertise and democracy. The book is, therefore, highly relevant to STS scholars. Since the reviewer is a nonspecialist of the subject matter, this review focuses on aspects of this book that seem interesting and useful to STS scholars.
