Though there has been much discussion of the uses of literature for social analysis, this is the first book-length work that takes the complete body of work of a major novelist as the basis for rethinking ethnographic representation and cross-cultural analysis.

A collection of Turner's writings that gathers seven late pieces that reflect his thoughts on such subjects as pilgrimage, sacrifice, and liminal processes.
"The essays reveal a passionate struggle between a committed conceptualization and a dedication to the telling detail. Turner is willing to address the moral and spiritual dimensions of being human, which are all too easily set aside by much social science." Anthropos"