Social and cultural anthropology Books

Book SynopsisExploring breakthroughs in language and cognition research, Caleb Everett finds that fundamentals of human perception are culturally encoded by the words and sentences we use. The experience of time, space, color, odor, and taste is substantially influenced by language, so that basic interactions with the world vary greatly across peoples.Trade ReviewIn the Amazonian region of Brazil, where anthropologist Caleb Everett spent much of his childhood, speakers of Tupi-Kawahíb never refer to time ‘passing by.’ Indeed, the language has no word for ‘time.’ By contrast, most European languages have few abstract words for odours, whereas languages in a number of other cultures have more than a dozen. Everett’s fascinating book—based on collaboration with biologists, chemists, political scientists and engineers—ponders such differences between the world’s 7,000-plus languages. -- Andrew Robinson * Nature *An assured guide to new thinking about how language shapes the way we see the world—at a time when thousands of languages are vanishing. -- Colin Barras * New Scientist *Historically, academics have looked for commonalities among languages and focused mainly on those used by Western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic (WEIRD) societies. But, Everett says, the tide is shifting…His book synthesizes his own and others’ research that brings in data from non-WEIRD languages and broadens our understanding of how words affect cognition, including how we process the concepts of time, space, color, and kinship. -- Lucy Swedberg * Harvard Business Review *Offers readers a tantalizing glimpse into the wide variety of human speech patterns evident in the world today. * Library Journal *An enlightening examination of human communication based on the findings of linguist fieldworkers—himself included—as well as researchers in areas such as cognitive psychology, data science, and respiratory medicine. * Kirkus Reviews *Everett relates complex linguistic discussions in accessible terms, and each page is full of thought-provoking insights. * Publishers Weekly (starred review) *Blending an ethnographer’s richness with an experimentalist’s clarity, Everett adroitly explains how what we’ve learned from data-driven studies of a myriad of tongues–from Amazonia and Africa to Australia and Austronesia–has dramatically shifted our understanding of the origins and nature of our species’ most salient ability: language. Far from being an isolated projection of innate psychology, languages evolve like other aspects of culture, adapting to our ecological contexts, social norms, acoustic environments, and cognitive inclinations. Languages also shape how speakers think, feel, and even perceive. With balance and breadth, this book offers an easy entry into a fascinating, though often ferocious, interdisciplinary field. -- Joe Henrich, author of The WEIRDest People in the World: How the West Became Psychologically Peculiar and Particularly ProsperousA marvelous tour of all that is amazing, perplexing, satisfying, and mysterious about languages and the humans who speak them. Everett combines up-to-date analyses with vivid descriptions of the diverse tools that humans use when they speak. His book drills down into deep mysteries but does so with a light hand, leading readers from one big question to the next. An essential read for anyone who wants to understand what we now know about language and how profoundly that understanding has recently evolved. -- Christine Kenneally, author of The Invisible History of the Human Race: How DNA and History Shape Our Identities and Our FuturesDo different languages create different experiences of the world? Everett offers up a wealth of nuanced insights on the state of the science to replace both the old exoticism and the lazy skepticism. This is an overdue and fascinating book. -- Gaston Dorren, author of Babel: Around the World in Twenty LanguagesA gift for language is a large part of what makes us human, but as Everett shows, that gift manifests itself in an astonishing spectrum of ways. As previous certainties about the structure of language erode and dissolve under pressure from new discoveries, researchers in many fields are finally grasping the importance of linguistic diversity. This is a careful yet deeply provocative work. -- Mark Abley, author of Spoken Here: Travels Among Threatened LanguagesThis book resoundingly demonstrates just how different languages can be and what those divergences reveal about us as a species. Based on both cutting-edge research and the author’s own experiences in the Amazon, where he grew up and conducted fieldwork, it will appeal to anyone who is interested in the science of language. -- Nick Evans, author of Words of Wonder: Endangered Languages and What They Tell Us

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewThis is an extremely worthwhile addition to the literature on the evolution of morality. It is well written and strikes an excellent balance between easy accessibility and nuanced and novel ideas. This book will appeal to students and researchers from a range of disciplines. -- Richard Joyce, author of The Evolution of MoralityThis is an important synthesis of the ideas Tomasello has been developing over a number of years, extended with an offer of a philosophically relevant genealogy of morality. Readers will learn much from this informed review of the extensive literature on the evolution of morality—a substantial part of which consists of the major contributions Tomasello and his colleagues have made. -- Philip Kitcher, author of The Ethical ProjectIf you’re after a definitive guide to explain how humans became an ultra-cooperative and, eventually, moral species, this must be it. Evolutionary anthropologist Michael Tomasello has followed his last book, A Natural History of Human Thinking, with another hard hitter. * New Scientist *Tomasello is convincing, above all, because he has run many of the relevant studies (on chimps, bonobos and children) himself. He concludes by emphasizing the powerful influence of broad cultural groups on modern humans…Tomasello also makes an endearing guide, appearing happily amazed that morality exists at all. -- Michael Bond * New Scientist *

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"One of Amazon's Best Books of 2020 in Business and Leadership""Honorable Mention for the Distinguished Scholarly Publication Award, Consumers and Consumption Section of the American Sociological Association""Fascinating."---Helen Rosner, New Yorker"The most colourful investigation into nightlife and gender politics since Gloria Steinem went incognito as a Playboy Bunny in 1963."---Mark Smith, The Times"Riveting. . . . The results of her investigation are astonishing. Mears has amassed pages of enthralling, richly human testimony. . . . The anecdotes are hugely entertaining, in a throw-up-in-your-mouth way. . . . Mears’s thesis—that nightclubs aren’t exceptions to ‘real life,’ but a distilled, brutal caricature of it—gathers strength as the details accumulate. . . . Elegantly written and genuinely page-turning, with revelations about life that go far beyond nightclubs."---Iona McLaren, Daily Telegraph"Mears is a very good reporter. . . . A fascinating read."---Lynn Barber, The Spectator"Riveting. . . . Mears is an excellent storyteller, resulting in a book that’s well-informed and critical but also animated and engaging." * Tatler *"Very Important People was written before the coronavirus pandemic, but Covid-19 makes it more relevant. Lockdown has widened inequality as poorer households lose jobs and rely on their savings. Meanwhile, the rich are getting richer, leading to pent up demand for parties, girls and bottle trains among those who have already missed a season of it."---Ollie Williams, Forbes"Very Important People depicts a complex world of exchange and exploitation, and warrants praise for doing so without passing predictable moral judgement. More than offering a mere window into the exotic lives of others, Ashley Mears emphasizes themes that should resonate with us all: the labour of marginalized others that lurks behind so much status-seeking consumption, the risks of conflating work with fun and friendship, and the sad fact that 'girl power' remains as oxymoronic as ever."---Alice Bloch, Times Literary Supplement"Enlightening. . . . A fascinating glimpse into life behind the velvet rope."---Matthew Partridge, Money Week"Compelling, vivid and curiously poignant. . . . Very Important People succeeds in exposing the intriguing and often distressing realities of a culture whose values seem both alien and unpleasantly persistent."---Lisa Hilton, The Critic"Mears takes her readers inside the exclusive global nightclub and party circuit, from New York City to Miami and Saint-Tropez, in order to reveal a world constituted by spectacular displays of wealth."---Laurie Taylor, BBC Radio 4, Thinking Allowed"Throughout the seven chapters of the book, Mears dissects the economy of “ models and bottles ” (p. 17), or the formula by which we designate those parties in which the super rich display their power by attending models and making flaunting their wealth by wasting money and buying many bottles at exorbitant prices.”"---Giulia Mensitieri, La Vie Des Idees

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Book SynopsisAn optimistic account of how the Nordic countries can teach us to live easier, healthier, happier lives: a Duckworth contemporary classic, beautifully repackaged for our 125th anniversaryTrade Review'Partanen is a careful, judicious writer' New York Times'A passionate and intelligent argument' Publishers Weekly'An earnest, well-written work worth heeding' Kirkus'An engaging fusion of reportage and memoir' O, the Oprah Magazine'A book you desperately need to add to your to-read pile' Gizmodo'Partanen’s sensible book should be required reading' Foreign Affairs'A must-read' New York Post

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Book SynopsisA major new intervention on the overarching challenges of modernity from one of the world’s leading anthropologistsTable of ContentsList of Illustrations Preface 1. Le Monde est Trop Plein 2. A Conceptual Inventory 3. Energy 4. Mobility 5. Cities 6. Waste 7. Information Overload 8. Clashing Scales: Understanding Overheating Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisCannibalism is unquestionably one of the oldest and deepest-seated taboos. Even in an age when almost nothing is sacred, religious, moral and social prohibitions surround the topic. But even as our minds recoil at the mention of actual acts of cannibalism there is some dark fascination with the subject. Appalling crimes of humans eating other humans are blown into major news stories and gory movies: both Hitchcock''s Psycho and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre were based on the crimes of Ed Gein, who is profiled, along with others, in this book. In Eat Thy Neighbour the authors put the subject of cannibalism into its social and historical perspective.

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Book SynopsisIn a mist-shrouded valley on China''s invisible border with Tibet is a place known as the Kingdom of Women, where a small tribe called the Mosuo lives in a cluster of villages that have changed little in centuries. In a mist-shrouded valley on China''s invisible border with Tibet is a place known as the Kingdom of Women, where a small tribe called the Mosuo lives in a cluster of villages that have changed little in centuries. This is one of the last matrilineal societies on earth, where power lies in the hands of women. All decisions and rights related to money, property, land and the children born to them rest with the Mosuo women, who live completely independently of husbands, fathers and brothers, with the grandmother as the head of each family. A unique practice is also enshrined in Mosuo tradition--that of walking marriage, where women choose their own lovers from men within the tribe but are beholden to none.Trade ReviewA fascinating portrait of one of the world’s last matriarchal societies, a land without fathers or husbands, without marriage or divorce, written by an international corporate lawyer who ditched her hectic life to embrace this Shangri-La inside deepest China. -- Jan Wong, author of 'Beijing Confidential'A crisp account by a high-powered Singaporean lawyer of how she renounced her former life of fifteen-hour working days in a male-dominated corporate world to find her feminist soul in the last matriarchal ethnic group remaining in China. Full of insights and touching descriptions, this is one of the most accessible and concrete descriptions of the Mosuo, a group more analysed than understood, putting the humanity of this tribe at the forefront of their identity. -- Kerry Brown, author of 'CEO China and The New Emperors'A most engaging account of life among the matrilineal and matriarchal Mosuo tribe in China’s Yunnan province, but also a lament to a way of life now threatened by modernity and tourism. Full of detail and telling insights into gender roles, it will appeal to armchair travellers as well as to anthropologists and sociologists. -- Jonathan Fryer, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of LondonA refreshing and authentic portrait of a hidden society in patriarchal China. A must read for anyone studying women and alternative societies. -- HsiaoHung Pai, author of 'Scattered Sand'Table of ContentsList of Plates Acknowledgements Preface Prelude Map: Kingdom of Women 1. Arriving in the Kingdom of Women 2. Building a Mosuo Home 3. Going Native 4. Getting to Know the Mosuos 5. Becoming the Godmother 6. Hunting and Eating in Bygone Times 7. How the Mosuo Women Rock 8. The Men Rock Too 9. A Marriage That Is Not a Marriage 10. The Matrilineal Ties That Bind 11. The Birth-Death Room 12. On the Knife-Edge of Extinction Glossary

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Book SynopsisFor centuries, a persistent and important component of Lakota religious life has been the Inipi, the ritual of the sweat lodge. The sweat lodge has changed little in appearance since its first recorded description in the late seventeenth century. This title looks at the history and significance of the Lakota sweat lodge.Trade Review"With an extended description of such an experience, Raymond A. Bucko begins his comprehensive study of the sweat-lodge rituals practised by the Lakota people on the big Pine Ridge reservation of South Dakota. If you delve beneath the surface , you find that Bucko's position has some interesting complexities about it. He points out that fieldworkers and anthropologists tend to create an orthodoxy where none has previously existed. Though he searches for authentic illustrations of the sweating practice, he rightly wonders what can be considered "authentic" in a time when Lakotas are increasingly influenced by Hollywood movies and New Age nostrums... Bucko stands in the debate as a champion of variation." - TLS, May 7, 1999

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Jussi Parikka’s A Geology of Media really expands what media theory can do. The materiality of media is no longer restricted to questions of economies or technics but extends all the way to its molecular composition. It connects the fast calculations of digital time to the deepest of temporalities, that of the earth itself. An essential contribution to a media theory for the Anthropocene."—McKenzie Wark, author of Molecular Red "A Geology of Media does not complete or close down an area of research, but rather opens one up. This book is vital to any continuing consideration of media today."—Steven Shaviro, author of The Universe of Things: On Speculative Realism"A powerful, illuminating, passionate book rewriting the history and future of media from a much needed materialist perspective."—Theory, Culture & Society"Parikka prods us to think big, to get past our primordial inhibitions, to look beyond mass media consumerism."—Furtherfield"Parikka’s book offers refreshing insights into the materiality of digital technologies - that have radically changed cinema too - and can make us place past and theoretical debates into the present."—New Review in Film and Television Studies"Parikka points readers toward a more expansive media theory in ways that no other researcher has."—CHOICE"A satisfying and challenging book."—boundary 2"Parikka’s invaluable book will prompt a myriad of important conversations within his discipline over the nature of media and technology."—The New Inquiry"A Geology of Media offers a greatly expanded definition of media materialism, productively redefines the scope of media archaeology, and nuances the discourse of ecocritical media theory with its emphasis on the importance of the nonorganic world."—Afterimage"With A Geology of New Media, Parikka not only expands and vitalizes the fields of media theory and media history, he also forces the humanities at large to rethink its methods and objectives."—Spheres"A Geology of Media is an excellent book, which mixes cultural theory and history with geological science and contemporary art."—The Year’s Work in Critical and Cultural Theory"Radical in its far-reaching and interdisciplinary approach, and welcome for being so, the scope of A Geology of Media reflects its topical intricacy whilst reshaping the arenas of discourse in which interrogations of an evolving, non-discrete, complex of media cultures can take place."—TOPIA: Canadian Journal of Cultural Studies"A provocative book that succeeds in proposing a potentially vast field of study."—Early Popular Visual Culture"A Geology of Media provides rich theoretic interventions and examples that expand on the increasing scholarship on the Anthropocene, materiality, and waste."—Cultural Geographies" A welcome contribution to this relevant area of study."—Prabuddha Bharata"Jussi Parikka deeply has examined the rawest matter of media."—Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly "In A Geology of Media, Jussia Parikka offers a refreshingly raw materiality approach to media studies." —Culture MachineTable of ContentsContentsPrefaceAcknowledgments1. Materiality: Grounds of Media and Culture2. An Alternative Deep Time of the Media3. Psychogeophysics of Technology4. Dust and the Exhausted Life5. Fossil FuturesAfterword: So-Called NatureAppendix. Zombie Media: Circuit Bending Media Archaeology into an Art MethodGarnet Hertz and Jussi ParikkaNotesIndex

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Book SynopsisMiniature books, eighteenth-century novels, Tom Thumb weddings, tall tales, and objects of tourism and nostalgia: this diverse group of cultural forms is the subject of On Longing, a fascinating analysis of the ways in which everyday objects are narrated to animate or realize certain versions of the world. Originally published in 1984 (Johns Hopkins University Press), and now available in paperback for the first time, this highly original book draws on insights from semiotics and from psychoanalytic, feminist, and Marxist criticism. Addressing the relations of language to experience, the body to scale, and narratives to objects, Susan Stewart looks at the 'miniature' as a metaphor for interiority and at the 'gigantic' as an exaggeration of aspects of the exterior. In the final part of her essay Stewart examines the ways in which the 'souvenir' and the 'collection' are objects mediating experience in time and space.Trade Review"Stewart's work provides an oasis in contemporary criticism, a place where theory and poetry, systematic reflection and the essayistic plunge into particular cases, come together in a refreshing synthesis."—W. J. T. Mitchell"The historical richness, psychological insight and sociological subtlety of the analyses Stewart develops in On Longing are exemplary for cultural studies."—Barbara Herrnstein Smith

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Book SynopsisAn ethnography exploring the encounter between modernizing visions of development, the place-based life projects of the Yshiro indigenous people of the Paraguayan Chaco, and the agendas of scholars and activists.Trade Review“This is an important contribution to anthropological efforts to go beyond critical analysis of development towards a deeper understanding of such projects.” - John Gledhill, Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute“With a sensitivity to the political nature of the politics of representation, the author passionately argues for a dialogue of knowledge in order to make visible the “anomalies” experienced by Yshiro-Ebitoso communities in Paraguay since 1986, and the political consequences from development interventions beyond the Chaco.” - Alberto Arce, The Americas“A timely contribution to the ethnographic record of Indigenous peoples of the Americas, this book … about the Yshiro, also known as Chamacoco, of the Alto Paraguay Chaco constitutes an innovative anti-totalizing text inspired by border theory and postwestern thought... The book strengthens studies on Native American Societies, specifically the stunning resilience of South American Indians, complementing an experience of survival with other socionatures around the world.” - Guillermo Delgado-P., The Canadian Journal of Native Studies“Storytelling Globalization: From the Chaco and Beyond is a creative—and to some lengths courageous—attempt to demonstrate a different kind of ethnography. . . . Blaser is attempting to tell stories of globalization from and with the Yshiro, and the result will prove an important model for practitioners interested in producing knowledge that in a nonreductive register.” - Jeremy M. Campbell, American Anthropologist“Storytelling Globalization from the Chaco and Beyond is an anthropological tour de force with strong philosophical, political, epistemic, and ontological implications. Mario Blaser shifts the geopolitics of knowing and reasoning by looking at globalization not only from the south but also and mainly through the eyes of those who endure its consequences. In the narratives Blaser presents, border thinking takes on new dimensions and is shown to be an essential aspect of de-colonial thought. Notions about ‘objectivity’ and ‘universal truth’ necessarily give way to a recognition of ontological diversity.”—Walter D. Mignolo, author of The Idea of Latin America“In this instructive and original work, modernity and the drama of globalization offer a historical horizon in relation to which both the activity of the anthropologist and the problems faced by the Yshiro communities in Paraguay are explored. Border dialogue (perhaps even border anthropology) is born precisely in the encounter between modern globalizing tendencies and the opening up of a different global imaginary, one rooted in the reality of there being many epistemic and social worlds.”—Nelson Maldonado-Torres, author of Against War: Views from the Underside of Modernity“Mario Blaser’s talented and deeply insightful storytelling opens up paths into the transition from modernity to globality. Storytelling Globalization from the Chaco and Beyond is a work of depth, scholarship, and hopefulness. Blaser’s years of learning and collaborating with the Yshiro people of the Paraguayan Chaco have pressed him to ask questions that destabilize much of the taken-for-granted knowledge of the Euromodern academy. With his research interlocutor Don Veneto Vera to prod him into dialogical investigations of relational ontologies in the pluriverse, Blaser brings us, the readers, into places where incisiveness, analysis, and passionate commitment converge. This book demonstrates and enacts the power of strong stories: to change our understandings, to open other worlds, to give us untamed glimpses of substantive alternatives for life on Earth.”—Deborah Bird Rose, author of Reports from a Wild Country: Ethics for Decolonisation“When ‘the rest’ meets ‘the West,’ are the modern stories enough? In this deeply disturbing and thought-provoking book, Mario Blaser shows that for the marginalized and exploited, the world is storied and materialized quite differently. Forced to recognize that hegemonic Western knowledges, institutions, and worlds deny those realities, Blaser tells a destabilizing but ultimately affirmative story that is simultaneously analytical, political, and ontological. This superb book will be compulsory reading for all students of anthropology, development studies, postcolonialism, and science and technology studies.”—John Law, author of After Method: Mess in Social Science Research“Storytelling Globalization: From the Chaco and Beyond is a creative—and to some lengths courageous—attempt to demonstrate a different kind of ethnography. . . . Blaser is attempting to tell stories of globalization from and with the Yshiro, and the result will prove an important model for practitioners interested in producing knowledge that in a nonreductive register.” -- Jeremy M. Campbell * American Anthropologist *“A timely contribution to the ethnographic record of Indigenous peoples of the Americas, this book … about the Yshiro, also known as Chamacoco, of the Alto Paraguay Chaco constitutes an innovative anti-totalizing text inspired by border theory and postwestern thought... The book strengthens studies on Native American Societies, specifically the stunning resilience of South American Indians, complementing an experience of survival with other socionatures around the world.” -- Guillermo Delgado-P. * Canadian Journal of Native Studies *“This is an important contribution to anthropological efforts to go beyond critical analysis of development towards a deeper understanding of such projects.” -- John Gledhill * Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute *“With a sensitivity to the political nature of the politics of representation, the author passionately argues for a dialogue of knowledge in order to make visible the “anomalies” experienced by Yshiro-Ebitoso communities in Paraguay since 1986, and the political consequences from development interventions beyond the Chaco.” -- Alberto Arce * The Americas *Table of ContentsAbout the Series viii Map List ix Preface xi Introduction. Globalization and the Struggle for Worlds and Knowledges Otherwise 1 1. Puruhle/Genealogies 1. Laissez-Faire Progress: Invisibilizing the Yrmo 41 2. State-Driven Development: Stabilizing Modernity 63 3. Sustainable Development: Modernity Unravels? 80 2. Porowo/Moralities 4. Enacting the Yrmo 105 5. Taming Differences 126 3. Azle/Translations 6. Translating Neoliberalism 149 7. A World in which Many Worlds (Are Forced to) Fit 171 8. Becoming the Yshiro Nation 188 9. Reality Check 209 Conclusion. Eisheraho/Renewal 227 Acronyms 241 Notes 243 Glossary 257 References 259 Index 283

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Book Synopsis Techniques of Pleasure is a vivid portrayal of the San Francisco Bay Area’s pansexual BDSM (SM) community. Margot Weiss conducted ethnographic research at dungeon play parties and at workshops on bondage, role play, and flogging, and she interviewed more than sixty SM practitioners. She describes a scene devoted to a form of erotic play organized around technique, rules and regulations, consumerism, and self-mastery. Challenging the notion that SM is inherently transgressive, Weiss links the development of commodity-oriented sexual communities and the expanding market for sex toys to the eroticization of gendered, racialized, and national inequalities. She analyzes the politics of BDSM’s spectacular performances, including those that dramatize heterosexual male dominance, slave auctions, and US imperialism, and contends that the SM scene is not a “safe space” separate from real-world inequality. It depends, like all sexual desire, on social hierarchiTrade Review“The analysis of these circuits is quite fascinating and could be expanded outside the BDSM scene to explore sexual fantasy and performance in any affluent, educated, tech-savvy culture. Recommended to readers interested in human sexuality.” - Scott Vieira, Library Journal"[A] fascinating, sophisticated, and original look at the ways in which we might begin to rethink how we view alternative iterations of expressions of sexuality. ...I thoroughly recommend this book to anyone interested in areas of sexuality, critical race theory, gender studies, biopolitics, and even discourse analysis." -- Nicholaus Baca * Peitho *“[A] useful scholarly monograph on how once perversions of the select have become indulgences of the many. . . . Techniques of Pleasure is at its best when Weiss describes what goes on at gatherings of consenting adults engaged in semi-public and non-commercial fetishistic S-and-M role-play. To her credit, she includes extensive quotes from practitioners she meets along the way. Ethnographers have the eyes and ears of an explorer.” -- David Rosen * The Brooklyn Rail *“Techniques of Pleasure is an important theoretical and empirical contribution that moves beyond the existing analyses in feminist and queer theory that depict SM as either inherently sexist or inherently transgressive. Building on both these theories without discarding their core assumptions, Weiss demonstrates how SM can be both sexist and transgressive, often at the same time. Beyond the empirical focus of this book, Weiss contributes to the broader literature on late capitalism’s impact on bodies, sexualities, and subjectivities.” -- Amy L. Stone * American Journal of Sociology *“[A] vital, if controversial, contribution to the body of writing and theory on BDSM.” - Nina Lary, Bitch“[A] useful scholarly monograph on how once perversions of the select have become indulgences of the many. . . . Techniques of Pleasure is at its best when Weiss describes what goes on at gatherings of consenting adults engaged in semi-public and non-commercial fetishistic S-and-M role-play. To her credit, she includes extensive quotes from practitioners she meets along the way. Ethnographers have the eyes and ears of an explorer.” - David Rosen, The Brooklyn Rail“Researchers and teachers of popular culture may use this book to counterbalance the recent upsurge in media depictions of BDSM, particularly the strain of erotic fiction known as ‘mommy porn,’ which uses BDSM imagery to reinforce heteronormative ideals… It is a complex subject, worthy of the meticulous treatment Weiss offers.” -- Misty Luminais * International Social Science Review *“Techniques of Pleasure is an impressive book that does much to humanize BDSM to those who wish to get involved in the community or simply wish to be better educated about the topic. . . . Weiss exposes a world that is typically viewed as dank and dark by the casual outsider; through her insightful analysis, she brings this subculture into the light and shows us the ‘softer side of kink.’” - C. J. Bishop, Electronic Journal of Human Sexuality“Techniques of Pleasure...is a landmark study of the BDSM 'scene' in San Francisco...Weiss succeeds admirably in producing a work that is conceptually rich and ethnographically engaging.” -- Richard Joseph Martin * Current Anthropology *“Margot Weiss’ sociological approach to the formation of sexual desire is breathtakingly smart and powerful, and should be required reading for any serious scholar of sexuality henceforth.” - Adam Isaiah Green, Contemporary Sociology“Techniques of Pleasure...is a landmark study of the BDSM “scene” in San Francisco...Weiss succeeds admirably in producing a work that is conceptually rich and ethnographically engaging.” - Richard Joseph Martin, Current Anthropology“Techniques of Pleasure is a wonderful, theoretically significant, and ethnographically rich book. Margot Weiss contextualizes the development of the Bay Area’s BDSM scene, analyzing contemporary BDSM as biopolitical practice. Examining the complex connections between discipline and freedom, subject formation and subjugation, power and play, Weiss extends feminist and queer theoretical debates about identity, community, sexuality, gender, race, and the nature of power. This book breaks new theoretical ground in relation not only to BDSM but also to questions of personhood, political economy, and embodiment in late capitalism.”—David Valentine, author of Imagining Transgender: An Ethnography of a Category“I cannot emphasize enough how vital the analysis in Techniques of Pleasure is. Margot Weiss reveals the half-lie of ‘safe space’ in the BDSM world and, in doing so, artfully unveils the half-lies that propel ideas of ‘agency’ and ‘choice’ in neoliberal culture.”—Annalee Newitz, author of Pretend We’re Dead: Capitalist Monsters in American Pop Culture“Weiss offers a nuanced reading of sex, power, consumption, and subjectivity that makes Techniques of Pleasure a major contribution to new theoretical work on neoliberal economic processes and the anthropology of sexuality and gender.” -- Michael Connors Jackman * American Ethnologist *“Margot Weiss’ sociological approach to the formation of sexual desire is breathtakingly smart and powerful, and should be required reading for any serious scholar of sexuality henceforth.” -- Adam Isaiah Green * Contemporary Sociology *“[A] vital, if controversial, contribution to the body of writing and theory on BDSM.” -- Nina Lary * Bitch *“The analysis of these circuits is quite fascinating and could be expanded outside the BDSM scene to explore sexual fantasy and performance in any affluent, educated, tech-savvy culture. Recommended to readers interested in human sexuality.” -- Scott Vieira * Library Journal *“In its analytic candor, both generous and unflinching, Weiss’s book is an appropriate entrée for anyone wishing to engage with contemporary BDSM communities — nestled within the larger queer academic trend of critiquing neoliberalist ideological formations of liberated selves and others.” -- Andy Campbell * GLQ *Table of ContentsA Note on Terminology vii Acknowledgments xiii Introduction. Toward a Performative Materialism 1 1. Setting the Scene: SM Communities in the San Francisco Bay Area 34 2. Becoming a Practitioner: Self-Mastery, Social Control, and the Biopolitics of SM 61 3. The Toy Bag: Exchange Economies and the Body at Play 101 4. Beyond Vanilla: Public Politics and Private Selves 143 5. Sex Play and Social Power: Reading the Effective Circuit 187 Appendix. Interviewee Vignettes 233 Notes 241 References 269 Index 291

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"The Republic Unsettled is thick, sophisticated thinking, which should unsettle the comfortable certainties of French and American secularism and monoculturalism. . . . Anthropologists like Fernando comprehend the situation most fully, and we owe it to our fellow citizens and our own societies to get the message out as widely and loudly as possible." -- Jack David Eller * Anthropology Review Database *"The Republic Unsettled is invaluable not only for anthropologists and ethnographers but also for scholars wanting to deepen their understanding of how contemporary secularism functions as a theory of politics and society, including through its contradictions, tensions, inconsistencies, anxieties, and instabilities." -- Roshan A. Jahangeer * ReOrient *“By taking the debate away from the well-worn lines of whether or not ‘Muslims’ can be or are ‘integrated’ (in other words, whether or not Muslims are an unsettling presence or not in the republic), and by instead underlining how the republic itself is inherently ‘unsettled’, this book will no doubt rile many French secular republicans and become a key point of reference in future studies of the French Republic, laı¨cite´, and ‘non-normative’ identities.” -- Natalya Vince * French Studies *“The Republic Unsettled is a crucial and stimulating read for any scholar thinking about secularism and secularity, difference politics, contemporary France and Europe, and/or Western liberalism(s) and liberal (in)tolerance. The book (and especially its vivid, emotional, and purposeful introduction) can easily find resonance across a variety of social science, religion, and history disciplines.” -- Carol Ferrara * Journal of Church and State *“That her book ends with a legitimate comparison between William Connolly's notions of critical responsiveness and agonistic respect and the way in which her Muslim French interlocutors think shows that the history of colonization, immigration and the creation of diasporas does not have to lead to a conflict of civilizations or economically reductive globalization but can produce rich and complex hybrids or mouvements aberrants that can genuinely contribute to human progress. What The Republic Unsettled manages to convey is that those who seem marginal to the present could be central to a better future, and that is indeed a very remarkable achievement.” -- Nardina Kaur * Radical Philosophy *“The Republic Unsettled is a dense, but extremely well written book that exposes and 'unsettles,' as the title indicates, secular republicanism by laying bare its numerous inconsistences and paradoxes. … In the aftermath of the Charlie Hebdo shootings, which has issued in an uncritically and self-gratulatory reinvigoration of secular republicanism in France, accompanied by a dramatic increase in anti-Muslim violence, Mayanthi Fernando’s book is more timely and urgent than ever.” -- Jeanette S. Jouili * Journal of the Society for Contemporary Thought and the Islamicate World *"Because Fernando makes a lucid argument based on extended ethnography and sophisticated reading in political theory, The Republic Unsettled will surely be read widely by all those engaged in thinking about the politics of diversity in Europe." -- John R. Bowen * American Ethnologist *"I offer the highest praise for The Republic Unsettled: it is a beautifully written book that readers will be eager to continue discussing long after they finish it." -- Jennifer Fredette * Anthropos *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments vii Introduction 1 Field Notes I: "Vive la Republique Plurielle" 29 1. "The Republic Is Mine" 33 2. Indifference, or the Right to Citizenship 69 Field Notes II: Friday Prayers 101 3. "A Memorial to the Future" 105 4. Reconfiguring Freedom 145 Field Notes III: A Tale of Two Manifestos 181 5. Of Mimicry and Woman 185 6. Asymmetries of Tolerance 221 Epilogue 261 Notes 267 References 285 Index 305

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Book SynopsisIn White Innocence Gloria Wekker explores a central paradox of Dutch life—the passionate denial of racial discrimination and colonial violence coexisting alongside aggressive racism and xenophobia—to show how the narrative of Dutch racial exceptionalism elides the Netherland's colonial past and safeguards white privilege.Trade Review"White Innocence explains why white Dutch people seem unable to grasp the racism of Zwarte Piet: Assured of their own social progressivism, they can a priori think and therefore do no wrong. . . . Wekker concludes her work with a plea for 'another "embarrassment of riches,"' for acknowledging the racism staring us in the face. In the United States, we might start by recognizing that there is, and always has been, no more audacious identity politics than white identity politics, as Trump and his white-supremacist ilk gleefully demonstrate. At least the illusion of innocence has been stripped away. Or perhaps not?" -- Nick Barr Clingan * The Nation *"White Innocence exposes how Dutch racism is infused with classism, sexism, and homophobia in discussions of everyday racism that includes [Wekker's] own personal exoticization as a child and criminalization as an adult, TV talk shows and films, experiences of mixed-race families, white gay liberation that constitutes Dutch homonationalism . . . and the 'siloing' of gender and race/ethnicity in politics and academics that makes intersectional policy and scholarship impossible. In doing so, Wekker reveals the very real personal consequences for people of color when their very existence is in service of white people." -- Melissa F. Weiner * Journal of Anthropological Research *"White Innocence provides a welcome and thought-provoking impetus to think more acutely about the long-term impacts of imperialism, as well as about the interrelations between colonies and metropole." -- Bart Luttikhuis * History: Reviews of New Books *"White Innocence makes a significant contribution to the field of critical whiteness studies by examining the role of race, especially whiteness, and the legacy of colonialism in the present-day Netherlands." -- Shannon Sullivan * philoSOPHIA *"White Innocence is an enticing invitation to confront the contradictions of Dutch discourse on race, colonialism and violence. . . . Wekker’s work is of vital relevance for those willing to unlearn the legacy of colonialism." -- Lucía Berro Pizzarossa * European Journal of Women's Studies *"This book has been a long time coming. . . . An exemplary work of critical scholarship." -- Paul Mepschen * Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments ix Introduction 1 1. "Suppose She Brings a Big Negro Home": Case Studies of Everyday Racism 30 2. The House That Race Built 50 3. The Coded Language of Hottentot Nymphae and the Discursive Presence of Race, 1917 81 4. Of Homo Nostalgia and (Post)Coloniality: Or, Where Did All the Critical White Gay Men Go? 108 5. "For Even Though I Am Black as Soot, My Intentions Are Good": The Case of Black Pete 139 Coda. "But What about the Captain?" 168 Notes 175 References 193 Index 215

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Book SynopsisHow do colonial histories matter to the urgencies and conditions of our current world? How have those histories so often been rendered as leftovers, as 'legacies' of a dead past rather than as active and violating forces in the world today? With precision and clarity, Ann Laura Stoler argues that recognizing 'colonial presence' may have as much to do with how the connections between colonial histories and the present are expected to look as it does with how they are expected to be. In Duress, Stoler considers what methodological renovations might serve to write histories that yield neither to smooth continuities nor to abrupt epochal breaks. Capturing the uneven, recursive qualities of the visions and practices that imperial formations have animated, Stoler works through a set of conceptual and concrete reconsiderations that locate the political effects and practices that imperial projects produce: occluded histories, gradated sovereignties, affective security regimes, 'newTrade Review"Duress: Imperial Durabilities In Our Times is a timely book. It can be read as both a work of postcolonial analysis and a methodological guide to conceptual history. Ann Laura Stoler’s willingness to wrestle uneasy mercurial modern terminologies into valuable approaches to the histories of imperial formations is refreshing and exemplary." -- Ed Jones * LSE Review of Books *"Stoler adds different insights and contexts to much material that is not new. Perhaps one test of the value of this is that it is difficult to read Duress without applying its insights both to the ways we engage in ethnographic enterprises and to current situations. Stoler provides the reader with much to consider and underscores the urgency of doing so." -- James Phillips * American Ethnologist *"Stoler’s book is both timely and innovative. . . . [Duress] takes us on a journey that looks at the genealogy of imperial violence, its traces in the present and its continuous re-shaping of contemporary societies on the one hand, and on the other, how new stories emerge and counterdiscourse shapes imperial violence." -- Olivette Otele * Journal of Colonialism & Colonial History *"Innovative and thoughtful. . . . Stoler has for a long time now moved between different concepts, disciplines, and subdisciplines with an agility that is inspiring. . . . A pressing and timely book that will be of interest to all concerned with questions on liberation and entrapment." -- Shirin Saeidi * Journal of International and Global Studies *"Stoler casts her net wide and deep and convincingly shows that colonialism is more complex, and more present, than most histories acknowledge." -- Aviva Chomsky * American Historical Review *"A tour de force. Stoler’s encyclopedic knowledge of the literature is impressive and the book might be used as a reference for those hoping to move the needle in postcolonial studies—to advance the agenda of the subfield . . . Stoler has ably demonstrated that Foucault’s work is relevant to locales beyond France. And yet, I am left to ask whether, in a sense, Stoler might simply stand alone, without Foucault, now more than ever as her own theoretical proficiencies are brought to bear on our colonial present." -- Anne-Maria Makhulu * Anthropological Quarterly *Table of ContentsPreface ix Appreciations xi Part I. Concept Work: Fragilities and Filiations 1. Critical Incisions: On Concept Work and Colonial Recursions 3 2. Raw Cuts: Palestine, Israel, and (Post)Colonial Studies 37 3. A Deadly Embrace: Of Colony and Camp 68 4. Colonial Aphasia: Disabled histories and Race in France 122 Part II. Recursions in a Colonial Mode 5. On Degrees of Imperial Sovereignty 173 6. Reason Aside: Enlightenment Projects and Empire's Security Regimes 205 7. Racial Regimes of Truth 237 Part III. "The Rot Remains" 8. Racist Visions and the Common Sense of France's "Extreme" Right 269 9. Bodily Exposures: Beyond Sex? 305 10. Imperial Debris and Ruination 336 Bibliography 381 Index 419

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Book SynopsisArturo Escobar presents a new vision of design theory by arguing for the creation of what he calls “autonomous design”—a design practice aimed at channeling design’s world-making capacity toward ways of being and doing that are deeply attuned to justice and the Earth.Trade Review"Escobar’s literature review and theoretical discussion stand out. Some of the ground he covers includes critical design studies, ethnographic approaches to design, participatory design, and decolonized design. Anthropology has a lot to offer design, Escobar argues, because we study the interplay of materiality, meaning, and practice. . . . Escobar’s discussion is built on a foundation of work emanating from a panopoly of Latin American scholars, all of whom appear to be fascinating in their own rights. . . . Through Escobar I felt like I was glimpsing the depth and breadth of that body of literature for the first time." -- Matt Thompson * Anthrodendum *"Designs for the Pluriverse is a heavy-hitting theoretical framework with potential to inform the practice of the design scholar or professional in any field, from planning or architecture to product design, engineering, and beyond. The work makes sense of generations of decolonial scholarship, pushing the reader towards understanding their design work as more relational, long-term-oriented, and transformative than previously assumed." -- Darien Williams * Carolina Planning Journal *“I can emphatically state that Designs for the Pluriverse is a superb and welcome addition both to the expanding literature on design in anthropology, and to design theory more broadly. . . . Indeed, there are so many ways to read this book that almost anyone who picks it up will find something to think with.” -- Keith M. Murphy * Anthropological Quarterly *“Designs for the Pluriverse is an excellent text for design studies scholars who are interested in exploring methodologies and theories of collective existence and creation, intertwining a series of case studies that support autonomous design with the theories to challenge modernist anthropocentrism. Together, they provide a strong foundation for readers to continue pursuing how to decolonize the world by redesigning the human being and designing the pluriverse, a world in which many worlds fit.” -- Juan Carlos Rodríguez Rivera * Design and Culture *“Escobar’s book brings together a wealth of relevant perspectives, initiatives, and references and is essential reading for all those interested in design and its potential for transition movements and the struggle of marginalized communities.” -- Ton Otto * Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute *Table of ContentsPreface and Acknowledgments ix Introduction 1 I. Design for the Real World: But Which "World"? What "Design"? What "Real"? 1. Out of the Studio and into the Flow of Socionatural Life 25 2. Elements for a Cultural Studies of Design 49 II. The Ontological Reorientation of Design 3. In the Background of Our Culture: Rationalism, Ontological Dualism, and Relationality 79 4. An Outline of Ontological Design 105 III. Designs for the Pluriverse 5. Design for Transitions 137 6. Autonomous Design and the Politics of Relationality and the Communal 165 Conclusion 202 Notes 229 References 259 Index 281

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Book SynopsisThe Gift brilliantly argues for the importance of creativity in our increasingly money-driven society. Reaching deep into literature, anthropology and psychology Lewis Hyde''s modern masterpiece has at its heart the simple and important idea that a ''gift'' can inspire and change our lives.Trade ReviewA masterpiece . . . THE GIFT is the best book I know of for the aspiring young, for talented but unacknowledged creators, or even for those who have achieved material success and are worried that this means they've sold out. It gets at the core of their dilemma: how to maintain yourself alive in a world of money, when the essential part of what you do cannot be bought or sold -- Margaret AtwoodReminds us of our cultural gifts and our responsibilities to them . . . a manifesto of sorts . . . In a climate where we know the price of everything and the value of nothing, Lewis Hyde offers us an account of those few, essential aspects of human experience that transcend commodity, or that will do so, if you let them -- Zadie SmithHelpful, beautiful and profound. It will change the way you look at everything * * Independent on Sunday * *Buy several copies for yourself and the rest of your friends interested in, well, anything . . . Hyde is far more than an astute cultural critic; he's an original and important thinker. Pass it on -- Geoff DyerFew books are such life-changers as THE GIFT -- Jonathan LethemTiger balm for tired minds * * Sunday Times * *No one who is invested in any kind of art, in questions of what real art does and doesn't have to do with money, spirituality, ego, love, ugliness, sales, politics, morality, marketing, and whatever you call 'value', can read THE GIFT and remain unchanged -- David Foster WallacePersuasive and fascinatingly illustrated, The Gift profits immensely from the modesty and unpretentiousness of Hyde's writing and the fascinated good nature with which he expounds his propositions * * Independent on Sunday * *Brilliant - by the time he is done he has folded language, culture and the very habit of being human into his ken * * New Yorker * *This wonderful, erudite and quirky book is a way of re-establishing a link with our imaginative life -- Jeanette Winterson

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Book SynopsisWhat is the secret to humanity's evolutionary success? Could it be our strength, our intellector something much nicer?Trade Review‘Brilliant, eye-opening, and absolutely inspiring – and a riveting read. Hare and Woods have written the perfect book for our time.’ -- Cass Sunstein, author of How Change Happens and co-author of Nudge‘An utterly persuasive explanation for why the human psyche has evolved to be dangerous – and what to do about it. It should be read by every politician and every school-child.’ -- Richard Wrangham, author of The Goodness Paradox: The Strange Relationship Between Virtue and Violence in Human Evolution‘Very few books even attempt to do what this book succeeds in doing. It begins in basic behavioural science, proceeds to an analysis of cooperation (or lack thereof) in contemporary society, and ends with implications for public policy. Everyone should read this book.’ -- Michael Tomasello, author of Origins of Human Communication and Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at Duke University‘Please read this beautiful, riveting, and uplifting book. You will learn the astonishing story of how and why humans evolved a deep impulse to help total strangers but also sometimes act with unspeakable cruelty. Just as importantly, you’ll learn how these insights can help all of us become more compassionate and more cooperative.’ -- Daniel E. Lieberman, author of The Story of the Human Body: Evolution, Health and Disease and Exercised: Why Something We Never Evolved to Do is Healthy and Rewarding‘Survival of the Friendliest is a fascinating counterpoint to the popular [mis]conception of Darwin’s ‘survival of the fittest.’ Brian Hare and Vanessa Woods offer a convincing case that it was not brute strength, raw intelligence, or ruthlessness that allowed modern humans to thrive while our hominin relatives died out. Instead, they argue that friendliness was the key to our flourishing – and that the same kind of cooperative communication is the key to freeing us from the tribalism currently threatening democratic governance around the world. Powerful, insightful, accessible – this book gives me hope.’ -- Megan Phelps-Roper, author of Unfollow‘How can a top predator like the wolf have evolved to become “man’s best friend”? Finally a book that explains in the clearest terms how friendliness and cooperation shaped dogs and humans. This book left me with a happy and optimistic view of nature.’ -- Isabella Rossellini, actress and activist

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Book SynopsisImpeccably researched and masterfully written, this book explains how and why humanity is driving itself off the cliff. Dahr Jamail, author, The End of IceWeaving together findings from a wide range of disciplines, Power traces how four key elements developed to give humans extraordinary power: tool making ability, language, social complexity, and the ability to harness energy sources ? most significantly, fossil fuels. It asks whether we have, at this point, overpowered natural and social systems, and if we have, what we can do about it.Has Homo sapiens one species among millions become powerful enough to threaten a mass extinction and disrupt the Earth''s climate? Why have we developed so many ways of oppressing one another? Can we change our relationship with power to avert ecological catastrophe, reduce social inequality, and stave off collapse?These questions and their answers will determine our fate.Trade Review"Heinberg's Power is a searing, unflinching revelation of what has driven us to our current existential crisis: humanity's quest for power. Impeccably researched and masterfully written, this book explains how and why humanity is driving itself off the cliff. If there is any hope for us to continue, Heinberg shows why it must come from efforts to limit our own power." — Dahr Jamail, author, The End of Ice "Richard Heinberg's panoramic review of known forms of power is both sobering and inspiring. Given our species' habitual methods for getting its way, be these methods physical, mental, or social, the outlook for our future is bleak indeed. Yet, Heinberg allows for the slim but real possibility of exercising restraint. If we are so persuaded, by wisdom or love for beauty, the future even now remains open. Indeed, such restraint returns us to ancient, almost forgotten appetites and capacities." — Joanna Macy, author, World As Lover, World As Self "It may be a moral idea that hard work pays off but if we need proof that it counts, this latest from Richard Heinberg carries all the evidence we need. His encyclopedic treatment of power is brilliant. It is sure to pop up in courses and living rooms like toast." — Wes Jackson, founder, The Land Institute "Heinberg goes to the very heart of the issue. Using his immense knowledge of biology, science, history, psychology, and the politics of energy, he shows that the environmental and social crises we face today have in their origin the insatiable human pursuit, and often abuse, of power, in all its forms. In showing us the path forward, Heinberg guides us to achieve power-limiting behavior so that we cannot just survive but thrive on a healthy planet and in healthy balance with one another." — Maude Barlow, author, activist, and co-founder, The Blue Planet Project "Power reminds us that Richard Heinberg is one of the most important public intellectuals in the conversation about society's future. Eminently readable and engaging, Power is breathtaking in its scope and insight. Heinberg persuasively argues that we have reached evolutionary limits to concentrated social power and that empathy and beauty are key to averting ecological and social catastrophe." — Chuck Collins, Institute for Policy Studies, author, The Wealth Hoarders "Power is a must read and a call to action for those seeking a sustainable, balanced, human future in harmony with the Earth. No guarantees, of course, but harnessing the power of sentient action certainly beats the alternative; of continuing our blind stumble only soon to be swept aside, as have many creatures before us." — Peter C. Whybrow, author, The Well-Tuned BrainTable of ContentsList of Figures List of Sidebars Acknowledgments Introduction 1. Power in Nature: From Mitochondria to Emotion and Deception The Basis of Life's Power Power and Bodies Power and Behaviors Proto-Human Powers 2. Power in the Pleistocene: On Spears, Fires, Furs, Words, and Flutes — And Why Men Are Such Power-Hogs Hands and Stone The Fire Ape Skins From Grunts to Sentences Gender Power The Power of Art 3. Power in the Holocene: The Rise of Social Inequality Gerdening, Big Men, and Chiefs: Power from Food Production Plow and Plunder: Kings and the First States Herding Cattle, Flogging Slaves: Power from Domestication Stories of Our Ancestors: Religion and Power Tools for Wording: Communication Technologies Numbers on Money Pathologies of Power 4. Power in the Anthropocene: The Wonderful World of Fossil Fuels It's All Energy The Coal Train Oil, Cars, Airplanes, and the New Middle Class Oil-Age Wars and Weapons Electrifying! The Human Superorganism 5. Overpowered: The Fine Mess We've Gotten Ourselves Into Climate Chaos and Its Remedies Disappearance of Wild Nature Resource Depletion Soaring Economic Inequality Pollution Overpopulation and Overconsumption Global Debt Bubble Weapons of Mass Destruction 6. Optimum Power: Sustaining Our Power Over Time Involuntary Power Limits: Death, Extinction, Collapse Self-Limitation in Natural and Human-Engineered Systems Taboos, Souls, and Enlightenment Taxes, Regulations, Activism, and Rationing: Power Restraint in the Modern World Games, Disarmament, and Degrowth Denial, Optimism Bias, and Irrational Exuberance 7. The Future of Power: Learning to Live Happily Within Limits All Against All Trade-Offs Along the Path of Self-Restraint The Fate of the Superorganism Questioning Technology Learning to Live with Less Energy and Stuff Lessening Inequality Population: Lowering It and Keeping It Steady Fighting Power with Power Long-Term Power Through Beauty, Spirituality, and Happiness Notes Index About the Author About New Society Publishers

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Book SynopsisAs we taste, chew, swallow, digest, and excrete, our foods transform us, while our eating, in its turn, affects the wider earthly environment. In Eating in Theory Annemarie Mol takes inspiration from these transformative entanglements to rethink what it is to be human. Drawing on fieldwork at food conferences, research labs, health care facilities, restaurants, and her own kitchen table, Mol reassesses the work of authors such as Hannah Arendt, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Hans Jonas, and Emmanuel Levinas. They celebrated the allegedly unique capability of humans to rise above their immediate bodily needs. Mol, by contrast, appreciates that as humans we share our fleshy substance with other living beings, whom we cultivate, cut into pieces, transport, prepare, and incorporate—and to whom we leave our excesses. This has far-reaching philosophical consequences. Taking human eating seriously suggests a reappraisal of being as transformative, knowing as entangling, doing as disperseTrade Review“Its writing limpid, its organization elegant, its argument scintillating, this book is inspirational. And radical. Annemarie Mol effectively unseats the mindset that cannot see past people as thinking and embodied beings. While her address is to questions as they are posed in philosophy, this book will find huge sympathy among those dealing with anthropological materials of all kinds and stages a striking provocation for the general reader who asks whether scholarship can tell us anything new.” -- Marilyn Strathern, author of * Relations: An Anthropological Account *“In characteristically crisp and inviting prose, Annemarie Mol thinks through eating—its social acts, sensory experiences, and metabolic processes—to re-metabolize the wisdoms so many of us have absorbed about knowing and relating, being and doing, subjectivity and agency. Eating in Theory offers a nourishingly pluralistic vision of humans permeable to their surroundings, interdependent rather than autonomous, and hungry for further thinking. It’s a book to savor.” -- Heather Paxson, Professor of Anthropology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology"Eating in Theory is a tasty and satisfying treat for anyone interested in human-nature relationships, refreshing theoretical perspectives, food studies, ethnography and more." -- Ola Plonska * LSE Review of Books *"[I]n detailing much of her critical reflection on a certain valued practice of thinking over those of eating, Mol eloquently brings into the limelight the vitality of abandoning grand theories aimed at explaining all human beings, and especially those not situated in their own theorization." -- Elin Linder * Anthropology Book Forum *"A remarkable book. . . . By dispensing with the ontological need for knowledge to be universal, Eating in Theory lives up to its title and truly theorizes eating as an act of meaning and meaning making. . . . Mol’s analysis unfolds fluidly and clearly. . . . Highly recommended. Graduate students, faculty, and professionals." -- M. A. Lange * Choice *"I know of no health researcher who so compellingly takes health out of individual bodies and situates it in the collective ecology that bodies depend on. . . . No writings seem more relevant to the crises of the present moment." -- Arthur W. Frank * Journal of Medical Humanities *"[A] terrific little book. . . . . Anthropologists and sociologists with an interest in Food Studies can easily make strong use of Eating in Theory, as well as of course philosophers of many disciplines preoccupied with the question of what we can wrap our collective Western mouth—rather than our head—around the most pernicious theoretical effects of the Anthropocene." -- Megan Volpert * Popmatters *"I find this book a valuable philosophical and theoretical contribution to our understanding of eating and food. I find it especially useful because Annemarie Mol demonstrates, through her scrutiny of such philosophical categories as Being, Knowing, Doing, and Relating, the multiple entanglements between people, between humans and nonhumans, that highlight the complexities of eating. As she successfully demonstrates, this traditionally banalized act can be productive for thinking about what it means to be human at a time when multiple empirical realities challenge universal philosophical understandings." -- Steffan Igor Ayora-Diaz * Journal of Anthropological Research *"Eating in Theory proves to be not only brief and approachable, but exciting and thought-provoking for foodways scholars. Reminiscent of Sarah Pink’s work on sensory ethnography, Mol introduces the reader to exciting new approaches in studying food and eating. Through thoughtful fieldwork passages and engaging analysis, Mol teaches us to view the world through eating, relating it to larger issues of overconsumption and ecological sustainability." -- Ema Noëlla Kibirkstis * Digest *"This book unravels the particular and ever-present model of the human derived from Western epistemologies while demonstrating its perniciousness by experimenting with alternatives. . . . Mol's voice is precise, challenging, and insightful. . . . Mol's ideas inspire a way of laboring in the world, of which the academia is part." -- Jessica Hardin * Anthropological Quarterly *"Eating in Theory brings Mol’s sophisticated approach to materiality and its enactment to bear on the prosaic topic of eating. This fascinating yet complex topic is much enriched by her approach and clarity. . . . Mol’s choice of the familiar yet always fascinating topic of eating has allowed her to create a very helpful primer and companion for a posthuman understanding of being, knowing, thinking, and relating. Naturally it is of interest to anyone interested in the topic of food and eating but should also be read widely across the humanities and social sciences for its contributions to thinking around ecological sustainability and philosophy." -- Hannah Drayson * Leonardo *Table of Contents1. Empirical Philosophy 2. Being 3. Knowing 4. Doing 5. Relating 6. Intellectual Ingredients Acknowledgments Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisComing from the worlds of cultural anthropology, geography, philosophy, science fiction, poetry, and fine art, the contributors to this volume consider the possibility for multispecies justice and speculate on the forms it would take.Trade Review"[A] vibrant edited volume. . . . The case studies offer much for higher-level scholars in anthropology, human geography, environmental studies, human-animal studies, and applied philosophy. . . . Recommended. Graduate students, faculty, and professionals." -- S. M. Weiss * Choice *"The chapters of essays, poetry, art, and framing in this volume are powerful and generative, including for anyone interested in social justice, multispecies studies, and the human and non-human injustices that characterize much of the contemporary world." (translated from Spanish) -- Maron E. Greenleaf * Estudios Publicos *"In blurring conventional justices—climate, environmental, social—we are guided by analytics that intersect race, gender, class, and species. The authors remind us that naming justices and injustices provides stories of both incremental hope and lasting nightmare in the reorganization of epistemological, ontological, and political promise. Each volume expands Western continental philosophy and political theory related to rights and capabilities, ever resistant to human mastery and institutional capture." -- Kellen Copeland * American Ethnologist *"The Promise of Multispecies Justice provides novel and thought-provoking perspectives concerning the experience of injustice and justice. It is a compulsory read for scholars in many fields, from the diverse fields of human, social, and life sciences. It is relevant and valuable for anyone interested in how to transit towards a fairer society." -- Pirjo Kristiina Virtanen * Anthropology Book Forum *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments ix Introduction. Who Benefits from Multispecies Justice? / Eben Kirksey and Sophie Chao 1 Glossary. Species of Justice / Sophie Chao and Eben Kirksey 23 Blessing. Thanksgiving in the Plantationocene / Craig Santos Perez 29 1. Spectral Justice / Radhika Govindrajan 33 2. Rights of the Amazon in Cosmopolitical Worlds / Kristina Lyons 53 3. “We Are Not Pests” / Alyssa Paredes 77 4. Prison Gardens and Growing Abolition / Elizabeth Lara 103 5. Justice at the Ends of the Worlds / Michael Marder 125 6. from the micronesian kingfisher / Craig Santos Perez 139 7. Rodent Trapping and the Just Possible / Jia Hui Lee 157 8. Inscribing the Interspecies Gap / M. L. Clark 179 9. Nuclear Waste and Relational Accountability in Indian Country / Noriko Ishiyama and Kim Tallbear 185 10. Multispecies Mediations in a Post-Extractive Zone / Zsuzsanna Ihar 205 Closing. Th S xth M ss Ext nci n / Craig Santos Perez 227 Afterword. Fugitive Jurisdictions / Karin Bolender, Sophie Chao, and Eben Kirksey 229 Bibliography 239 Contributors 273 Index 277

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Book SynopsisIn The Pulse of the Earth Adam Bobbette tells the story of how modern theories of the earth emerged from the slopes of Indonesia’s volcanoes. Beginning in the late nineteenth century, scientists became concerned with protecting the colonial plantation economy from the unpredictable bursts and shudders of volcanoes. Bobbette follows Javanese knowledge traditions, colonial geologists, volcanologists, mystics, Theosophists, orientalists, and revolutionaries to show how the earth sciences originate from a fusion of Western and non-Western cosmology, theology, anthropology, and geology. Drawing on archival research, interviews, and fieldwork at Javanese volcanoes and in scientific observatories, he explores how Indonesian Islam shaped the theory of plate tectonics, how Dutch colonial volcanologists learned to see the earth in new ways from Javanese spiritual traditions, and how new scientific technologies radically recast notions of the human body, distance, and the earth. In tTrade Review“Adam Bobbette’s simultaneous making strange of Western science and making reasonable of animist thought give this book its charm and intellectual heft. I can’t think of any other book that is as balanced in its treatment of Western science and non-Western thought and as insistent on putting them on a level playing field. At once ethnographic and global in scope, The Pulse of the Earth boldly defines and owns the concept of political geology every bit as much as it is a book about Java or a political volcano.” -- Nigel Clark, coauthor of * Planetary Social Thought: The Anthropocene Challenge to the Social Sciences *“Adam Bobbette’s book is ambitious. To quote Goethe, it is ‘endowed with magnificent sensory perception’ and rubs against the patience of scholars who are more ‘successful at ordering phenomena and putting them under the proper rubrics.’ The Pulse of the Earth is a perilous and exciting book.” -- Rudolf Mrázek, author of * The Complete Lives of Camp People: Colonialism, Fascism, Concentrated Modernity *"Java is a worthy stage to host this intense combination of fiery volcanism, cosmology, and culture, and this work provides an accessible introduction to political geology in both concept and practice. . . . Highly recommended. Advanced undergraduates through faculty; professionals; general readers." -- J. Brewer * Choice *Table of ContentsPreface ix Acknowledgments xix 1. Political Geology as Method 1 2. The Origins of Java in Four Maps: From an Island of Ruins to Youthful Throes 20 3. Intercalated: The Political and Spiritual Geographies of Plate Tectonics 52 4. AD 1006 Geodeterminism: Cultures of Catastrophe and the Story of a Date 80 5. Geopoetics: Joannes Umbgrove’s Cosmic and Aesthetic Science 114 6. Volcano Observatories: Proximity and Distance in Science and Mysticism 142 Conclusion 175 Notes 179 Bibliography 197 Index 215

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Book SynopsisThe Natural Border tells the recent history of Mediterranean rural capitalism from the perspective of marginalized Black African farm workers. Timothy Raeymaekers shows how in the context of global supply chains and repressive border regimes, agrarian production and reproduction are based on fundamental racial hierarchies.Taking the example of the tomatoa typical ''Made in Italy'' commodityRaeymaekers asks how political boundaries are drawn around the land and the labor needed for its production, what technologies of exclusion and inclusion enable capitalist operations to take place in the Mediterranean agrarian frontier, and which practices structure the allocation, use and commodification of land and labor across the tomato chain. While the mobile infrastructures that mobilize, channel, commodify and segregate labor play a central role in the ''naturalization'' of racial segregation, they are also terrains of contestation and powerand thus, as The Na

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Book Synopsis'A powerful celebration of common humanity and compassion . . . deserves to be read widely by people of all faiths and none' - Sunday TimesIn a series of personal and insightful letters to his sons, Omar Saif Ghobash offers a vital manifesto that tackles the dilemmas facing not only young Muslims but everyone navigating the complexities of today’s world.Full of wisdom and thoughtful reflections on faith, culture and society. This is a courageous and essential book that celebrates individuality whilst recognising it is our shared humanity that brings us together.Written with the experience of a diplomat and the personal responsibility of a father; Ghobash’s letters offer understanding and balance in a world that rarely offers any. An intimate and hopeful glimpse into a sphere many are unfamiliar with; it provides an understanding of the everyday struggles Muslims face around the globe.Trade ReviewA powerful celebration of common humanity and compassion . . . deserves to be read widely by people of all faiths and none. * Sunday Times *Full of brave questions and wisdom -- Ed Husain, author of The IslamistAn act of bravery -- Niall FergusonCreates hope * New York Times *A gentle, cautious work, which addresses thorny questions with a parent's compassion and a diplomat's delicate tread. * Harper's *Ghobash encourages a search for nuance in a world consumed with a polarizing, partisan us-versus-them mentality. * Slate *Thoughtful reflections by a Muslim diplomat about questions of faith, culture, and modernity. -- Fawaz A. Gerges, Professor of International Relations at the London School of Economics and Political ScienceA timely and incisive book about the hopes and aspirations of Muslims beyond the headlines that have shaped Western attitudes towards Islam . . . A must read for Muslims and non-Muslims -- Vali Nasr, Dean and Professor of International Politics at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International StudiesBeautifully written letters . . . A must read for anyone who wants to take the pulse of a crucial region of our world. Refreshing and effortless reading, filled with hope. -- Ebrahim Moosa, is professor of Islamic Studies and co-director of the Contending Modernities program in the Keough School of Global Affairs at the University of Notre DameA rare treat in that it is intensely human whilst, at the same time, being an important work of philosophy, religion and life. -- Henry Sweetbaum, Chairman of the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation and Political Violence

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Book SynopsisA SUNDAY TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR A TIME 'MUST-READ' 'An extraordinarily thought-provoking memoir that makes a controversial contribution to the fraught debate on race and racism . . . intellectually stimulating and compelling' SUNDAY TIMESA reckoning with the way we choose to see and define ourselves, Self-Portrait in Black and White is the searching story of one American family's multi-generational transformation from what is called black to what is assumed to be white. Thomas Chatterton Williams, the son of a 'black' father from the segregated South and a 'white' mother from the West, spent his whole life believing the dictum that a single drop of 'black blood' makes a person black. This was so fundamental to his self-conception that he'd never rigorously reflected on its foundations - but the shock of his experience as the black father of two extremely white-looking children led him to question these long-held convictions.It is not that he has come to believe that he is no longer black or that his daughter is white, Williams notes. It is that these categories cannot adequately capture either of them - or anyone else, for that matter. Beautifully written and bound to upset received opinions on race, Self-Portrait in Black and White is an urgent work for our time.Trade ReviewThis book brings a blast of fresh air that will change your thinking about race * George Packer, author of The Unwinding *There have been a slew of books this year about racism and white privilege, pretty much saying the same thing at different volumes of indignation. This slim book is different. A mixed-race American, Thomas Chatterton Williams had to rethink what being black meant when he held his baby daughter for the first time: she was blonde, blue-eyed and pale-skinned. This humane essay is an attempt to move beyond our obsession with race and skin colour * The Times (Saturday Review), Politics and Current Affairs Book of the Year 2020 *[Williams] is so honest and fresh in his observations, so skillful at blending his own story with larger principles, that it is hard not to admire him. At a time of increasing division, his philosophizing evinces an underlying generosity. He reaches both ways across the aisle of racism, arguing above all for reciprocity, and in doing so begins to theorize the temperate peace of which all humanity is sorely in need * New York Times Book Review *An elegantly rendered and trenchantly critical reflection on 'race' and identity: one that is perfectly suited to our time. This is a subtle, unsettling, and brave book * Glenn Loury, professor of economics and faculty fellow, Watson Institute, Brown University *An energizing book by one of the greatest writers of our time * Yascha Mounk, author of The People vs. Democracy *A standout memoir that digs into vital contemporary questions of race and self-image . . . succeeds spectacularly for three main reasons: the author's relentlessly investigative thought process, consistent candor, and superb writing style. Almost every page contains at least one sentence so resonant that it bears rereading for its impact . . . An insightful, indispensable memoir * Kirkus (starred review) *A provocative philosophical argument about the role of race in human identity . . . intellectually rigorous, written in fluid prose, and frequently exhilarating * Publishers Weekly (starred) *An elegant and sharp-eyed writer . . . In a publishing environment where analyses of race tend to call out white fragilities and catalogue historical injustices, Self-Portrait in Black and White is a counterintuitive, courageous addition * Washington Post *A fluent, captivating, if often disquieting story . . . We witness Williams on a journey of both self-discovery and self-creation, and his memoir is most valuable as a way deeper into, as opposed to a way out of, race talk * Harper's *An extraordinarily thought-provoking memoir that makes a controversial contribution to the fraught debate on race and racism . . . This book certainly takes the reader on an intellectually stimulating journey and makes a compelling case for a postracial future * Sunday Times *This humane essay is an attempt to move beyond our obsession with race and skin colour * The Times *

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Book Synopsis*2022 Nautilus Book Award Gold Medal Winner: Ecology & Environment *2022 Nautilus Book Award Special Honors as Best of Anthology For readers of Braiding Sweetgrass and The Overstory From The Center for Humans and Nature, a collection in five volumes: essays, interviews, poetry, and stories of solidarity that highlight the interdependence that exists between humans and nonhuman beings We live in an astounding world of relations. We share these ties that bind with our fellow humans—and we share these relations with nonhuman beings as well. From the bacterium swimming in your belly to the trees exhaling the breath you breathe, this community of life is our kin—and, for many cultures around the world, being human is based upon this extended sense of kinship. Kinship: Belonging in a World of Relations is a lively series that explores our deep interconnections with the living world. More than 70 contributors—including Robin Wall Kimmerer, Richard Powers, David Abram, J. Drew Lanham, and Sharon Blackie—invite readers into cosmologies, narratives, and everyday interactions that embrace a more-than-human world as worthy of our response and responsibility. These diverse voices render a wide range of possibilities for becoming better kin. Contents: Planet: What are the sources of our deepest evolutionary and planetary connections, and of our profound longing for kinship? Place: To what extent does crafting a deeper connection with the Earth’s bioregions reinvigorate a sense of kinship with the place-based beings, systems, and communities that mutually shape one another? Partners: How do relations between and among different species foster a sense of responsibility and belonging in us? Persons: Which experiences expand our understanding of being human in relation to other-than-human beings? Practice: What are the practical, everyday, and lifelong ways we become kin? From the recognition of nonhumans as persons to the care of our kinfolk through language and action, Kinship: Belonging in a World of Relations is a guide and companion into the ways we can deepen our care and respect for the family of plants, rivers, mountains, animals, and others who live with us in this exuberant, life-generating, planetary tangle of relations. Proceeds from sales of Kinship benefit the nonprofit, non-partisan Center for Humans and Nature, which partners with some of the brightest minds to explore human responsibilities to each other and the more-than-human world. The Center brings together philosophers, ecologists, artists, political scientists, anthropologists, poets and economists, among others, to think creatively about a resilient future for the whole community of life.Trade Review“This collection is a passionate call to turn towards the living Earth with reverence and respect, and in so doing to cultivate new and old forms of curiosity, of understanding, and of responsibility. Across five captivating volumes, Kinship: Belonging in a World of Relations brings together a rich diversity of voices and perspectives. Contributions range in form from poetry to interviews and essays, drawing on and engaging with the insights of Indigenous stories, philosophy, the natural sciences, and much more. Ultimately, this is a collection that does much more than simply describe the webs of relationship that are our world of kin. At the same time, it invites and at times pulls the reader into a sense of the fundamental sharedness of all life and our profound obligations, perhaps now more than ever, to hold open room for others to be and to become in their own unique and precious ways.”—Thom van Dooren, author of The Wake of Crows: Living and Dying in Shared Worlds“Essential reading about the question of our time: how to belong. A chorus of beautiful, wise, grieving, exulting, and generative voices, guiding us into true ‘family values’ for a wild living Earth. These collections offer rare and rich insight into how to find, honor, and heal the bonds of blood, place, time, and ethics that knit us to all other beings.”—David George Haskell, author of The Forest Unseen and The Songs of Trees"Sometimes when we are working with a document, when it’s growing and changing, we call it “live.” Likewise, this book is live. It’s full of life. It’s living inside you as you read it and you are living inside it. It’s changing you and you’re changing it. May this book be a living document that guides us toward love and care for all kin."—Janisse Ray, author of Wild Spectacle"The Kinship series of books is an ensemble of outstanding essays that reveal the truth that reality is rooted in relationships. After reading these marvellous essays, it becomes crystal clear that there is no reality outside relationships. These books shatter the old story of separation between humans and Nature and explode the belief that nature is a machine and the planet Earth is a dead rock. Here is the new story of the living Earth and a celebration of deep connectivity of life; human as well as more-than-human life. These are inspiring and enlightening essays. They will change your perception of Nature. I recommend these books wholeheartedly!"—Satish Kumar, Founder, Schumacher College, Editor Emeritus, Resurgence & Ecologist“What a joyful series this is, this family of books, crafted with love, clarity, and compassion by a family of poets, scholars, and sages. Together the volumes form a five-part harmony, converging beautifully around notions of kinship and kinning. The authors ask, how do we rightly relate? How may we learn to live well with our kin? Can we listen with sensitivity to the voices and languages of others, the beings with fur, claws, wings, scales, and fins with whom we share the mountains, rivers, seas, grasslands, and forests, places that ring with spirit and meaning, too, who are family, too? The chapters are stories as much as studies, narratives born from experience, wisdom, and observations over many generations. I can’t wait to share this family with my students and colleagues in conservation and anthropology, and with my friends and kin everywhere.“—Dr. Amanda Stronza, Anthropologist and Professor of Ecology and Conservation Biology, Texas A&M University“Kinship is essential reading. Five books of elemental grace and charm, beginning with a spider's web. Each strand glistens in the sunlight, dreaming, catch and release, a journey through the multiverse. Each gathering of words, a page, a tribe, a story of who we are, who we have been, and who we've yet to become, shiny, bright, new, and very old. The DNA of rock and stone, of all our relations, the chemistry of breathing, letting go, and Love. Again, again, and again.”—John Francis, PhD, author of Planetwalker: 17 Years of Silence, 22 Years of Walking “At a time when divisive politics and human-first ideologies dominate public discourse, Kinship provides a deeply-moving, soul-rejuvenating, and course-correcting primer for recognizing and building relationships among all living things. Here readers will find solace in essays and poems about what we’re losing, as well as inspiration for how to live well with other humans—and with our other-than-human kin. But Kinship is more than instructive. Taken together, these exquisite volumes are a balm for the soul.”—Dr. Amy Brady, Executive Director of Orion magazine"Kinship is the type of series I would want to gift to my wild, untamed, and unschooled children, for from its pages springs an education at the end of homogenous time, a crack in the tarmac of ascension, an insurgency of the hitherto invisible. At a time when the human is no longer tenable as a category unto itself, we will need the prophetic voices of these poets, philosophers, mothers, fathers, scientists, thinkers, public intellectuals, artists, and awestruck fugitives to kindle a politics of humility, to help us fall down to earth from our gilded perches, to help us stray from the threatening familiarity of our own image. It is time to meet the others we imagined we left behind: this constellation of stars will guide us."—Bayo Akomolafe, Ph.D., author of These Wilds Beyond our Fences: Letters to My Daughter on Humanity’s Search for Home “The Kinship series upends colonial paradigms around humans and our relationship with more-than-human nature. These paradigms have driven mainstream environmental movements to engage in myopic efforts that at times have exacerbated ecological imbalances. Through stories, essays, art, poetry, and more, contributors chip away at the layers that bind our collective colonial ethos. Rather than owning nature, we are urged to think about our kinship with all that is nonhuman. Rather than controlling our environments using methods rooted in human exceptionalism (i.e., we know best), we are urged to learn from our kin. Rather than “using” land, water, and wildlife as “natural resources,” we are urged to be in reciprocity and right relationship with our kin. Rather than labeling birds, rocks, and rivers as “it,” we are urged to think of them as persons who have their own rights. Rather than being static, we are urged to be kinetic (Kin-etic?). Decolonization begins with unlearning, and this is a good place to begin.”—Aparna Rajagopal (she/her), founding partner of the Avarna Group and cofounder of PGM ONE Summit"The wonderful essays gathered here will stir minds and open hearts with the reminder that kinship is about how all things are connected, and that these relationships are best when acknowledged, attended to, and above all, savored."—Florence Williams, author of The Nature Fix: How Being in Nature Makes us Happier, Healthier, and More Creative"A powerful, multidimensional work of extraordinary vision and reach whose overarching theme of humans sharing encounters with our other-than-human relations presaged a project out of the ordinary."—Resilience

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Book SynopsisRecent years have seen a revival of the heated culture wars of the 1990s, but this time its battle ground is the internet. On one side the "alt right" ranges from the once obscure neo-reactionary and white separatist movements, to geeky subcultures like 4chan, to more mainstream manifestations such as the Trump-supporting gay libertarian Milo Yiannopolous. On the other side, a culture of struggle sessions and virtue signalling lurks behind a therapeutic language of trigger warnings and safe spaces. The feminist side of the online culture wars has its equally geeky subcultures right through to its mainstream expression. Kill All Normies explores some of the cultural genealogies and past parallels of these styles and subcultures, drawing from transgressive styles of 60s libertinism and conservative movements, to make the case for a rejection of the perpetual cultural turn.

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Book SynopsisTrickster disrupted the world around him, and in doing so he reshaped it. Playful, mischievous, subversive, amoral, tricksters are a great bother to have around, but they are also indispensable heroes of culture.Trickster Makes This World revisits the stories of Coyote, Eshu and Hermes and holds them up against the life and work of more recent creators: Pablo Picasso, Marcel Duchamp, John Cage, Allen Ginsberg, Maxine Hong Kingston and others. Authoritative in its scholarship, supple and dynamic in its style, Trickster Makes This World encourages you to think and see afresh.Trade ReviewThis book is a revelation * * The Times * *A modern classic . . . which celebrates the power of disruptive imagination * * Guardian * *A glorious grab-bag stuffed with necessary loot, a joyful plum pudding rich in treasures -- Margaret Atwood * * Los Angeles Times * *His big ideas are seriously good ones * * Guardian * *An act of pure pleasure from first to last -- Michael ChabonHyde is one of our true superstars of non-fiction . . . Both brilliant (intellectually, literarily) and wise (psychologically, spiritually, you-name-itally) -- David Foster WallaceLewis Hyde's second masterpiece -- Margaret AtwoodA masterpiece . . . The thrilling thing about reading non-fiction such as Hyde's is not just that it gives you new thoughts: it also changes the way you think * * Scotland on Sunday * *Brilliant...By the time he is done he has folded language, culture, and the very habit of being human into his ken * * The New Yorker * *Hyde is far more than an astute cultural critic; he's an original and important thinker. Pass it on -- Geoff Dyer

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Book Synopsis“Magnificent [and] wondrous.” The Spectator "Rich and illuminating." Literary Review "Phenomenally accurate." History Today "Stunning." The Morning Star "Sweeping." The New European "A wonderful book." Current World Archaeology "In a class of its own." The Caspian Post A landscape of high mountains and narrow valleys stretching from the Black to the Caspian Seas, the Caucasus region has been home to human populations for nearly 2 million years. In this richly illustrated 2-volume series, historian and explorer Christoph Baumer tells the story of the region’s history through to the present day. It is a story of encounters between many different peoples, from Scythians, Turkic and Mongol peoples of the East to Greeks and Romans from the West, from Indo-European tribes from the West as well as the East, and to Arabs and Iranians from the South. It is a story of rival claims by Empires and nations and of how the region has become home to more than 50 languages that can be heard within its borders to this very day. This first volume charts the period from the emergence of the earliest human populations in the region – the first known human populations outside Africa - to the Seljuk conquests of 1050CE. Along the way the book charts the development of Neolithic, Iron and Bronze Age cultures, the first recognizable Caucasian state and the arrival of a succession of the great transnational Empires, from the Greeks, the Romans and the Armenian to competing Christian and Muslim conquerors. The History of the Caucasus: Volume 1 also includes more than 200 full colour images and maps bringing the changing cultures of these lands vividly to life.Trade ReviewBaumer sets out the wonders of the past, sometimes doing so valley by valley… This is a real treat: a rare book whose images do justice to the text and vice versa. I cannot recommend it highly enough. -- Peter Frankopan * The Spectator *This grand and encyclopedic volume will surely become the standard work on this beguiling and important region. -- Bijan Omrani * Literary Review *The Caucasus has long attracted mountain climbers, bird watchers and lovers and medieval architecture: its appeal, thanks to Baumer’s book, will reach a wider audience, from tourists to academics who want to study languages of a region that Arabs called ‘the Mountain of Tongues’. The first volume takes us from the dawn of history to the 11th century. It is a miracle of both concentration and clarity. -- Donald Rayfield * History Today *The largely unknown and historically neglected Caucasus emerges as a land of never-ending fascination… This is writing on a vast his­torical scale… Filled with awe-inspiring photography, clear and relevant maps, useful timelines and pic­tures of hundreds of artefacts. -- Steve Andrew * The Morning Star *Sweeping [and] beautifully illustrated. * The New European *To perform a historical survey of such a long time span, from prehistory to the collapse of the Soviet Union, of a region containing several dozen nations and intersecting with so many of the great world empires would seem to be a foolhardy undertaking… [Baumer] pulls this off through dogged erudition and enthusiasm for his subject. * Asian Review of Books *This huge sweep of history is handled deftly and intelligently through Baumer’s vivid and lucid prose and the accompaniment of magnificent photographs, many taken by the author, which amply illustrate the archaeological discoveries through the ages, from ruined fortifications to wondrous works of art… A wonderful book full of great scholarship. -- John Hare * Current World Archaeology *“Lavishly illustrated with the author’s colour photos taken on various visits to the region over the past decade, the heavy gloss paper gives the feel of a coffee table book. However, the content is that of a rich, old-school history text, fact-heavy and chronologically ordered with a suitably bewildering cast of kings and battles… Baumer’s work [is] in a class of its own.” -- Mark Elliot * The Caspian Post *While the book would be worth having for the images alone, the text provides a mostly reliable overview of the vast sweep of human history in the Caucasus and adjacent regions from the earliest signs of hominin habitation more than 1,7 million years ago up to the 13th century. * Iran and the Caucasus *Impressively informative, profusely illustrated, exceptionally well organized and presented, History of the Caucasus: At the Crossroads of Empires by historian Christoph Baumer is an extraordinary work of regional history that will have enormous appeal for the non- specialist general reader and the academician alike—making this an especially and unreservedly recommended addition to personal, community, college, and university library Asian history collections in general, and supplemental curriculum studies reading lists in particular. * Midwest Book Review *Baumer's book is a milestone in the long, complex and hitherto obscure history of the Caucasus: he deals adroitly and convincingly with questions of palaeontology, archaeology, myth, legend as well as the historical records to be retrieved from Armenian, Georgian, Latin and Greek sources. He shows due scepticism about national legends and etymological claims. Baumer writes with admirable clarity. His book is magnificently illustrated, and all the reader can want is for volume 2, covering the next thousand years, to appear as soon as possible. * Professor Donald Rayfield, Emeritus Professor of Russian, Queen Mary University of London, UK *A fascinating book with glorious photography. * Irish Tech News *Table of ContentsI At the edge of Europe and Asia - An Introduction 1. A Time of Conflict 2. A Special Geography 3. Peoples and Languages 4. Objectives and Sources II The Formation of the Landscape and Early Humans of the Palaeolithic 1. The Origin of the Caucasus Mountains and the History of the Adjacent Seas - Black Sea and Caspian Sea Excursus: Did the Flood take place near the Black Sea? 2. Homo Georgicus: First Early Humans Outside Africa 3. Neanderthals and Homo Sapiens in the North and South Caucasus III Prehistoric Cultures: From the Neolithic to the Iron Age 1. The Southern Caucasus 1.1 The Shulaveri-Shomu-Aratashen culture 1.2 The Chalcolithic cultures of Sioni and Leila Tepe 1.3 The Late Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age Kura-Araxes Culture 1.4 The Kurgan Cultures of the Middle Bronze Age Excursus: The invention of wheel and cart 1.5 Late Bronze Age and Iron Age 1.6 Early Tribal Organizations, War Alliances and Confederations 1.7 The Colchis in Prehistoric Times 2. The Northern Caucasus 2.1 Chalcolithic Settlements and Early, Flat Tumuli 2.2 The Early Bronze Age Cultures of Maikop 2.3 The Middle and Late Bronze Age Dolmen Culture 2.4 The Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age Pri-Elbrus Culture IV. A First Caucasian state, Greek Empires and Northern Equestrian Peoples 1. Urartu/Biainili: The First Caucasian State 1.1 The Creation of Biainili 1.2 Biainili Struggles with Assyria for Supremacy in the Middle East 1.3 Rise of Assyria and Weakening of Biainili 1.4 Biainili's Decline 2. Equestrian Peoples from the North and Greek Trading Colonies 2.1 The Cimmerians 2.2 Immigrant Scythians and Autochthonous Maiotes 2.3 Greek Emporia in the North-western Caucasus 2.4 Sarmatians, Alans and the Hun Invasion V. The South Caucasus under Achaemenid Sovereignty, Armenian Kingdoms and Pontos 1 The Achaemenid Sovereignty 2 The Hellenization of the Colchis 3. Early Kingdoms of Armenia 3.1 Armenian Dynasties of the Orontides/Yervanduni and Early Artaxiad 3.2 Tigranes the Great, Pontos and the Mithridaic Wars Excursus: The eight deities of the Armenian pantheon 3.3 Late Artaxiad: Armenia between Rome and Parthia 3.4 Roman Patronage of Pontos VI Roman-Parthian Condominiums in the South Caucasus 1. Comments on Early Historiography in the Southern Caucasus 2. The Kingdom of Kartli (Iberia) and Lazica 2.1 Legendary Ancestors and the Parnavazids 2.2 Iberia in the Orbit of Rome 3. Caucasian Albania in pre-Islamic Time 4. Armenia 4.1 Armenia as a Roman-Parthian Condominium 4.2 Armenia between Sasanid and Roman Sovereignty VII The Introduction of Christianity as a State Ideology and the Political Division of the South Caucasus 1. Legends of Apostolic Missionary Work 2. Armenia and the Tradition of Gregori the Enlightener 2.1 Syrian-Mesopotamian and Greek-Cappadocian Impulses 2.2 King Trdat IV and Gregori the Illuminator 2.3 Characteristics of Early Armenian Christianity 2.4 A power struggle between King and Catholics and the division of Armenia Excursus: Mesrop Mashtots and the invention of the Armenian script 3. Kartli: From King Mirian III to the Abolition of the Monarchy 3.1 The Legend of St. Nino and the Christianization of Kartli 3.2 Kartli Under Persian Sovereignty 4 The Conversion of Albania and the Apostolic Church of Caucasian Albania 5 Lazica and a First Christianization of the North Caucasian Alans 5.1 The Lazican Wars 5.2 The Christianization of Lazica, Alania and Svanetia and the veneration of military saints 6. The Persian Hegemony in Armenia, Georgia and Albani 7. The Alienation Between the Caucasian Church Hierarchies VIII Between Caliphate, Byzantium and Khazars 1. Southern Caucasian Principalities under Islamic Rule until the Battle of Bagravand in 772 2. The Rise of the Bagratid dynasties 2.1 The Emergence of the Armenian Kingdom Excursus: Paulikians and Tondrakians 2.2 The Formation of the Georgian Kingdom of Sakartvelo 3. The Empire of the Khazars in the Northern Caucasus 4. The Kingdom of Alanya in the North-western Caucasus 5. Muslim Dynasties of Albania and the Invasion of the Seljuks 5.1 The Sayids 5.2 The Sallarids 5.3 The Rawwadids 5.4 The Shaddadids 5.5 The Yazidids and Hashimids 6. The Kingdoms of Armenia, Byzantium and the Seljuk Conquest 6.1 The Armenian Kingdoms 6.2 The Byzantine Annexation of Armenia 6.3 The Seljuks Conquer Armenia 6.4 Ani under the Rule of the Shaddadids IX. Outlook Appendices I. Population statistics by country II Ancient established languages of the Caucasus by language families III Chronology of the most important Caucasian dynasties Notes Bibliography List of Maps Photo credits Acknowledgements Index Concepts People Places

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Book SynopsisWhat if we could do better than the family?We need to talk about the family. For those who are lucky, families can be filled with love and care, but for many they are sites of pain: from abandonment and neglect, to abuse and violence. Nobody is more likely to harm you than your family.Even in so-called happy families, the unpaid, unacknowledged work that it takes to raise children and care for each other is endless and exhausting. It could be otherwise: in this urgent, incisive polemic, leading feminist critic Sophie Lewis makes the case for family abolition.Abolish the Family traces the history of family abolitionist demands, beginning with nineteenth century utopian socialist and sex radical Charles Fourier, the Communist Manifesto and early-twentieth century Russian family abolitionist Alexandra Kollontai. Turning her attention to the 1960s, Lewis reminds us of the anti-family politics of radical feminists like Shulamith Firestone and the gay liberationists, a tradition she traces to the queer marxists bringing family abolition to the twenty-first century. This exhilarating essay looks at historic rightwing panic about Black families and the violent imposition of the family on indigenous communities, and insists: only by thinking beyond the family can we begin to imagine what might come after.Trade ReviewSharp, engaging, and bursting with intellectual energy, Abolish the Family is a triumph. Whether you come to this book as a critic of The Family or as its most ardent supporter, you're sure to find something within its pages to move, challenge, or provoke you. It's a joy to read, and I cannot recommend it highly enough. -- Helen HesterI am consistently dazzled by Sophie Lewis's work, which is both intellectually capacious and heart-expanding. Abolish the Family is a liberatory demand and a world-making project proposed here with revolutionary love and inimitable style. Without fail, Lewis clarifies, disrupts and inspires. -- Natasha Lennard, author of Being Numerous: Essays on Non-Fascist LifeThe idea of family abolition tends to provoke skeptical reactions: Can't families be a source of solidarity? Without families, who would we count on when things get tough? Shouldn't we protect vulnerable families, ostracized families, separated families? Sophie Lewis faces up to the hard questions without flinching, while ultimately steering us towards different ones: How else could we live, and who else could we be? Abolish the Family is a rigorously utopian, radically compassionate, unapologetically revolutionary manifesto, by equal parts thrilling and sobering. We all deserve better than the family, Lewis argues, and it's up to all of us to build new forms of solidarity and care that reach beyond biology or even kin, even if we don't know quite what they'll look like. Abolish the Family will make you want to find out. -- Alyssa BattistoniSophie Lewis once again shines forth as one of the boldest thinkers of our current moment with this highly anticipated sequel to her groundbreaking Full Surrogacy Now. How might we understand caring, sharing, and loving outside the concept of kinship? In this energizing little book - part history and critical analysis, part manifesto - Lewis helps us understand family abolition as world-making rather than as a subtraction of infrastructure, and she does so with remarkable clarity, precision, and wit. -- Sianne Ngai, author of Theory of the Gimmick: Aesthetic Judgment and Capitalist FormWhat would it be like to imagine a communism not just of wealth but also of care, love and belonging? Where the full range of human needs are met without depending on the fragile bubble of the nuclear family? That institution we are all supposed to believe will be there for us - even though so many books and films detail all the ways in which it fails. This is the difficult yet important terrain where Sophie Lewis ventures. Abolish the Family is a short, sharp shock to our assumptions about the good life and how to achieve it. -- McKenzie WarkIn her writing, Lewis shows us the kind of feminist care that is within our reach and the intellectual work we must do to actualise it. Generous, charged and always underpinned by a comradely orientation to its reader, Abolish the Family traverses historical and contemporary arguments for unmaking the bourgeois family and methodically interrogates the idea that it is an unshakeable, ubiquitous institution that must be protected at all costs. Lewis draws on a number of radical political genealogies to say "no" - the nuclear family is a deficient provider of care and resource, a conceptual footstool for the racist nation-state and its many border regimes, a hotbed of gendered exploitation and violence...there are other possibilities! Let's embrace them together! -- Lola OlufemiSophie Lewis and her expansive vision of feminism are desperately needed right now. She makes the work of undoing what 'womanhood' has come to mean look possible and irresistible. -- Melissa Gira Grant, author of Playing the WhoreSophie Lewis is at the top of a new generation of scholars and activists thinking the transformation of gestational labor within contemporary pharmacopornographic capitalism. Neither simply natural nor banally cultural, gestation appears as the unthought core of gender and sexual politics, and the key of a forthcoming womb revolution: trans-Marx meets mammal's politics! -- Paul B. Preciado, author of Testo JunkieA bracing invitation to think beyond an institution that immiserates so many but that, for just as many, remains a fixed point of social possibility. Sophie Lewis is, as always, sharp, bold, compassionate and fearless. -- Amia Srinivasan, author of The Right to SexSophie Lewis is at the forefront of a vital queer, trans, feminist communist movement to create an expansive field of revolutionary theory and strategy for today. Abolish the Family is an important contribution to Lewis's already discourse-shaping body of work, analyzing and seeking ways to move beyond the contradictory and complex function of families under conditions of extreme capital accumulation and capitalist crisis. A call for liberation from the privatization of domestic labor and the cruel scarcities of care under capitalism, Abolish the Family exhorts us toward something so much better than what we've got. -- Jordy Rosenbery, author of Confessions of the FoxA lively, sharp and relatively short primer on family abolition ... Lewis does not pretend to have all the answers, but makes a solid case for joining her in finding them. -- Amy Hall * New Internationalist *Sophie Lewis is our most eloquent, furious and funny critic of how the family is a terrible way to satisfy all of our desires for love, care, nourishment. -- Erin Maglaque * New Statesman *Thrilling. -- Emily Kenway * Refinery29 *A timely provocation. -- Tom Whyman * ArtReview *The manifesto I needed. -- Zakia Uddin * White Review, Best Books 2022 *Anchored in a strikingly hopeful feminist Marxism, Lewis leads the reader through a systematic, didactic introduction to the politics and possibilities of cutting ourselves loose from the constraints and impositions of the traditional patriarchal, capitalist family. -- Hanne Blank * LIBER *Lewis builds a harsh yet well-grounded portrait of familial dysfunction. This provocation stings * Publishers Weekly *

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Book SynopsisIn Dancing in the Streets Ehrenreich uncovers the origins of communal celebration in human biology and culture. She discovers that the same elements come up in every human culture throughout history: a love of masking, carnival, music-making and dance. Although sixteenth-century Europeans began to view mass festivities as foreign and 'savage', Ehrenreich shows that they were indigenous to the West, from the ancient Greek's worship of Dionysus to the medieval practices of Christianity as a 'danced religion'. Exhilarating in its scholarly range, humane, witty and impassioned, Dancing in the Streets will generate debate and soul-searching.Trade ReviewWitty and quizzical ... Her lightness of touch is commendable -- Simon Callow * Guardian *Dancing in the Streets is a genuine triumph of popular critical scholarship - the punchy elegance of her prose makes this an essential purchase * Independent *A sparkling history of mass festivity, from Dionysian cults through ecstatic slave rites to rock'n'roll, it also, in sober vein, records its suppression and containment by disquieted elites and concludes with meditations on some deep-seated troubles of our own age -- Gareth Dale * Times Higher Education Supplement *

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Book SynopsisIn almost every military intervention in its history, the US has made cultural mistakes that hindered attainment of its policy goals. From the counterproductive strategic bombing of Vietnam to the misguided accidental burning of the Koran in Afghanistan, the US has blundered around with little consideration of local cultural beliefs and almost no concern for the long-term effects on the host nation's society. Cultural anthropology--the so-called 'handmaiden of colonialism'--has historically served as an intellectual bridge between sovereign Western powers and local nationals. What light can it shed on the difficult intersection of the US military and foreign societies today? Each chapter in this book tells the story of an anthropologist who worked directly for the military, such as Ursula Graham Bower, the only woman to hold a British combat command during WWII. Each faced challenges including the negative outcomes of exporting Western political models to societies where they don't fit, and errors of perception that prevent understanding of indigenous societies. Ranging from the British colonial era in Africa to the recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Military Anthropology illustrates the conceptual, cultural and practical barriers encountered by military organisations.Trade Review‘A fascinating and pioneering study.' -- Asian Affairs‘Never before has cultural awareness mattered so much to military operations. By exploring the extraordinary lives and experiences of a remarkable bunch of characters, Montgomery McFate demonstrates the importance of military anthropology to the study and conduct of war. This is a most enlightening volume.’ -- Theo Farrell, Dean of Arts and Social Sciences, City, University of London, author of 'Unwinnable: Britain’s War in Afghanistan'‘Montgomery McFate has written a dense but fascinating book that examines the role of anthropologists in warfare, focusing on the importance of understanding culture to achieve success in counterinsurgency, unconventional warfare, and information operations. Invaluable to strategic practitioners in a world that promises continuing American engagement in small wars.’ -- John Nagl, US Army Lieutenant Colonel (Retired), Headmaster of The Haverford School, and author of 'Knife Fights: A Memoir of Modern War''A long overdue study of a critical yet often overlooked dimension of strategy and war. McFate puts her finger on why the military and academia find it so difficult to trust each other, and why both must find a way to do so.' -- Antulio J. Echevarria II, Editor, Parameters, US Army War College

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Book SynopsisTribes and Politics in Yemen tells the story of the Houthi conflict in Sa'dah Province, Yemen, as seen through the eyes of the local tribes. In the West the Houthi conflict, which erupted in 2004, is often defined through the lenses of either the Iranian-Saudi proxy war or the Sunni-Shia divide. Yet, as experienced by locals, the Houthi conflict is much more deeply rooted in the recent history of Sa'dah Province. Its origins must be sought in the political, economic, social and sectarian transformations since the 1960s civil war and their repercussions on the local society, which is dominated by tribal norms. From the civil war to the Houthi conflict these transformations involve the same individuals, families and groups, and are driven by the same struggles over resources, prerogatives, and power. This book is based on years of anthropological fieldwork expertise both on the ground and through digital anthropological approaches. It offers a detailed account of the local complexities of the Houthi conflict and its historical background and underscores the absolute imperative of understanding the highly local, personal, and non-ideological nature of internal conflict in Yemen.Trade Review'Remarkable.'‘An excellent book . . . an indispensable read to anyone with an interest in Yemeni politics, both past and present.’'Brandt . . . has delved deeply into the emergence and evolution of the Houthi phenomenon and explains in extensive detail the entangled and incredibly complex roots of the conflict . . . she has done so thoroughly, convincingly and admirably . . . . an invaluable glimpse into the complexity of Yemeni society and politics.''As a writer and researcher on Yemen, this is the book I've been waiting for. A thorough, painstakingly assembled account of the rise of one of the world's least understood rebel groups - it makes for a riveting read. This is an indispensable addition to the pool of knowledge on Yemen and a must read for everyone who wants to understand why we are here today.' -- Peter Salisbury, Senior Research Fellow, Middle East and North Africa Programme, Chatham House'The most detailed and comprehensive analysis to date of the Houthi conflict in Yemen, providing critical insights into the rise of the Houthis as a national movement and how a local conflict metastasized into a regional one. Published as the Saudi-led "Operation Decisive Storm" is still in full swing, this long overdue and well-researched book will help readers understand how Yemen became a laboratory for new wars in the Middle East.' -- Gabriele vom Bruck, Senior Lecturer at School of Oriental and African Studies; author of Islam, Memory and Morality in Yemen: Ruling Families in Transition'Marieke Brandt's book is a fascinating piece of ethnography and history. Through exceptional fieldwork in the northern highlands of Yemen, it explores the minute details and roots of a political and religious phenomenon that remains fundamental to our understanding of the contemporary Arabian Peninsula.' -- Laurent Bonnefoy, researcher at the CERI/Sciences Po, author of Salafism in Yemen: Transnationalism and Religious Identity‘This book provides a deep and comprehensive insight into the complex “Houthi conflict” by studying its political, tribal and personal dynamics. Brandt pays great attention to the wide spectrum of local causes that explain the conflict’s onset, persistence, and expansion on the basis of a “bottom-up” social anthropological approach.’ -- Horst Kopp, former professor at University of Erlangen-Nuremberg; researcher on the urban and rural geography of Yemen'Brandt's detailed, even intimate, analysis of the Houthi movement's history, internal social dynamics and relations with local and regional actors is essential reading for understanding its current and prospective role in Yemen's politics. Beyond Yemen, the book demonstrates the importance of anthropological analysis in explaining local and national politics.' -- Helen Lackner, Research Associate at London Middle East Institute, School of Oriental and African Studies; author of Yemen in Crisis: Autocracy, Neo-Liberalism and the Disintegration of a State

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Book Synopsis

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Book Synopsis

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Book SynopsisA captivating and comprehensive guide to Japan's elite class of warriors—revised and updated with over 70 color photographs!The Samurai played a leading role in Japanese society for centuries, and this is the first encyclopedia to showcase the fascinating history and culture of these enigmatic warriors. With a new foreword by Samurai scholar and martial arts expert Alexander Bennet and over 70 new color photographs, this newly designed edition offers the most comprehensive and enticing collection of Samurai information available today.This book contains 171 highly detailed alphabetical entries and essays on a broad variety of intriguing topics, including the following: Samurai weapons and armor, including the fearsome katana sword Famous Samurai including Miyamoto Musashi, Japan's greatest swordsman; Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder of the Tokugawa shogunate; and Toyotomi Hideyoshi, a uni?er of Japan and notorious persecutor of Christians in the 16th century The Battle of Sekigahara, the largest battle ever to take place in Japan, and the Boshin War, which led to the fall of the shogunate and restoration of imperial power The Bushido code—the legendary Samurai code of chivalry and honor The new foreword by renowned Samurai historian Alexander Bennett provides expert insights into the lives and philosophy of the Samurai. Also included are many informative sidebars, suggestions for further reading, a selection of primary sources, and over 125 illustrations.Trade Review"Vaporis has accomplished what no scholar has before: a thorough, reliable encyclopedia of samurai culture and history useful for students, scholars, and casual readers alike. A classic that won't be surpassed anytime soon." --Professor Michael Wert, Marquette University"The Samurai played a leading role in Japanese society for centuries, and this is the first encyclopedia to showcase the fascinating history and culture of these enigmatic warriors." --University of Maryland newsletter"Vaporis has assembled an enormous amount of information---much of it heretofore unavailable in English--and presented it in an engaging and accessible format… I recommend it enthusiastically."--Karl Friday (Saitama University) review in Monumenta Nipponica

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Book SynopsisThis fascinating study explores how face functions as social capital for leaders in Thai society. It examines the anatomy of Thai face, ways to gain, lose, and maintain face, patron-client dynamics, and the sources and paradigms of power. Ethnographic research gives voice to Thai leaders as they describe face behaviors and the flow of power in their society. The author compellingly reveals an indigenous but little-used pathway to virtuous leadership that empowers both leaders and followers, to the benefit of all. Written with academic rigor in a popular style, the book presents insights that are crucial to understanding and building strategic relationships in Thai society.

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Book SynopsisA critical analysis of issues and approaches in a variety of areas, ranging from the political economy of popular music through its history and ethnography to its semiology, aesthetics and ideology. The book focuses on Anglo-American popular music of the last 200 years.Table of ContentsPart 1 Charting the popular - towards a historical framework: roll over Beethoven? - sites and soundings on the music; historical map; it's all over now; popular music and mass culture - Adorno's theory; over the rainbow? - technology, politics and popular music in an era beyond mass culture. Part 2 Taking a part - towards an analytical framework: change gonna come? - popular music and musicology; I heard it through the grapevine? - popular music in culture; from me to you; popular music as message; lost in music? - pleasure, value and ideology in popular music

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Book SynopsisThis new collection of essays by the author of Life at the Bottom bears the unmistakable stamp of Theodore Dalrymple's bracingly clearsighted view of the human condition. In these pieces, Dr. Dalrymple ranges over literature and ideas, from Shakespeare to Marx, from the breakdown of Islam to the legalization of drugs. Here is a book that restores our faith in the central importance of literature and criticism to our civilization. Theodore Dalrymple is the best doctor-writer since William Carlos Williams. —Peggy Noonan. Includes When Islam Breaks Down, named the best journal article of 2004 by David Brooks of the New York Times.Trade ReviewDalrymple writes a clear and considered prose that makes him formidable indeed. -- David Pryce–Jones * Book Review Digest *Theodore Dalrymple has succeeded (once more) in publishing a book that is both thoughtful and absorbing. -- Paul Hollander * New York Sun *The brutal, penetrating honesty of his thinking and the vividness of his prose make Theodore Dalrymple the George Orwell of our time. -- Denis Dutton, Editor * Arts and Letters Daily *His gift for storytelling will keep readers turning pages. * The Christian Century *Theodore Dalrymple is the best doctor-writer since William Carlos Williams. -- Peggy NoonanThere is so much learning and unconventional wisdom in it that you want to make the reading last. -- Norman StoneTheodore Dalrymple is the Edmund Burke of our age.… Our Culture, What’s Left of It is not simply an important book, it is a necessary one. -- Roger KimballDalrymple's moral courage shines through the most. Compelling reading; highly recommended. * Library Journal *Engrossing. Dalrymple is intelligent, witty, uncommonly perceptive about human affairs, and scathingly honest about human folly. -- Edward J. Sozanski * The Philadelphia Inquirer *It's rare for someone to produce a work on social issues that is so readable. -- Kevin Walker * Tampa Tribune *Insightful....[Dalrymple is a] profound British social critic. -- Thomas Sowell, Rose and Milton Friedman Senior Fellow on Public Policy at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University * Nationally Syndicated Columnist *Striking. Most collections of essays are lackluster affairs, but Dalrymple's is an exception. -- Jacob Heilbrunn * The New York Times *Penetrating analysis and literary eloquence make the book a worthy read for anyone concerned with the fate of civilization. -- Andrew Martin * Courier–Journal *The manner in which Dalrymple wields his critical scalpel fixes our attention…he makes no promise to fix our condition. -- Jay Martin * Antioch Review *It's rare to find such a morally coherent, historically informed and human account as Our Culture, What's Left of It. -- Rev. Johannes L. Jacobse * Town Hall *Whether you find Dalrymple refreshing or infuriating will depend on your political point of view. Dalrymple calls them as he sees them, and there is not an ounce of political correctness in him. -- Bruce Ramsey * The Seattle Times *Ridiculously prolific and a favorite of bloggers.... He's one of the very best social critics of our age. * Brothers Judd *The book is elegantly written, conscientiously argued, provocative and fiercely committed...measured polemics arouse disgust, shame and despair: they will shake many readers' views of their physical surroundings and cultural assumptions, and have an enriching power to improve the way that people think and act. -- Richard Davenport–Hines * Times Literary Supplement *Theodore Dalrymple makes a devastating diagnosis of liberalism's recent ills. -- Randy Boyagoda * Globe and Mail *Dalrymple has acquired a following on the sarcastic right; if anything, the thoughtful left should be reading him." -- Geoffrey Wheatcroft * Newstatesman.Com *Terrific.... Dalrymple is direct and his judgments are so true. -- Stanley Crouch * New York Daily News *An unexpectedly moving illustration. -- Stefan Beck * The New Criterion *[This book] depicts the crucial problems in western culture in beautifully rich prose. -- Gregory L. Schneider * Topeka Capital–Journal *Dalrymple is able to say things with an authority few have. -- Michael Platt * Society *The sobering, fiery and ominous truth. -- Stanley Crouch * Tulsa World *This highly intelligent and perceptive writer never hesitates to 'tell it like it is'. -- Angela Ellis-Jones * Salisbury Review *These bracing essays horrify, irritate, enlighten, amuse. They also stir you to remember, as Dalrymple puts it, what we have to lose. -- Roger Kimball * New York Sun *Read the words of a man who has been on the street...who brings a vast intelligence to his conclusions. -- Stanley Crouch * Independent *A clear-eyed assessment of the human condition at the beginning of the 21st century. -- H. J. Kirchhoff * Globe and Mail *Surgically incisive essays by a British psychiatrist who deserves to be considered the George Orwell of the right. * Charlotte Observer *Dalrymple paints a chilling portrait of what is happening these days in France. -- James K. Fitzpatrick * Wanderer *Another classic book...by Theodore Dalrymple. -- Thomas Sowell, Rose and Milton Friedman Senior Fellow on Public Policy at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University * Post Chronicle *

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