A TRIBUTE TO ECKSTEIN,HARRY

In this article, the authors attempt to provide background for this sp ecial issue in honor of Harry Eckstein and his work. A brief sketch of Eckstein's personal life is offered, focusing on his formative experi ences in Hitler's Germany. The article then turns to an in-depth analy sis of three of Eckstein's writings: his splendid essay titled ''Polit ical Science and Public Policy''; his unrivaled overview of the field of comparative politics in ''A Perspective on Comparative Politics, Pa st and Present''; and his attempt to redirect the discipline of politi cal science in ''Authority Patterns: A Structural Basis for Political Inquiry.'' Eckstein's work holds up well, less in the sense that it ha s triumphed in the discipline as a whole (both Eckstein and his critic s agree that it has not) and more in the sense that it serves as a con stant reference point for an ongoing dialogue about questions that wil l never be settled.