Engelke's subtle and self-reflexive study presents an excellent overview of the debates and issues that have shaped this hugely influential social science. . . Using an eclectic range of examples, including "bridewealth" in modern China and the role of social values in Downton Abbey, he shows how anthropology reveals both the limits of common sense and the universal lessons that can be drawn from communities everywhere PD Smith Guardian
Matthew Engelke is Professor of Anthropology at the London School of Economics. A prize-winning author and teacher, he is also past Editor of the Journal of theRoyal Anthropological Institute and has written for the Guardian, The Times, and Public Books.