The unravelling of an anthropological puzzle concerning a Polynesian island's social organization clarifies the strength and limitations of the anthropological approach to constructing knowledge.

They sold sin and sensation with the magic words "Uncut Uncensored Adults Only " and the most happily shameless of them all was David F. Friedman, the emperor of "exploitation" films. Friedman perfected the fine art of sleaze and delightfully admits that he has hurled more garbage at the public than anyone else before or since. This book is as much his story as it is the history of an idea that in recent times has enjoyed a remarkable rebirth.
Friedman writes with gusto of the glory days when there were taboos to be broken and untold amounts of money to be made. He fondly remembers his...