A man of 19th-century culture

In April 2004 Academician Boris Sergeevich Sokolov, the outstanding Russian geologist, stratigrapher, and paleontologist, marked his 90th birthday. The significance of his scientific attainments, the depth of his research work, his remarkable organizing activities, and his publicist's talent rank him among the most distinguished representatives of world science. On the eve of this anniversary, our correspondent I.A. Goryunov visited Academician B.S. Sokolov and asked him to tell us about his scientific ventures and his teachers and colleagues and to give his view of 20th century science and its prospects for the 21st century.