Social Science : Anthropology

America Gonzalez is a hotel housekeeper on an island off the coast of Puerto Rico, cleaning up after wealthy foreigners who don't look her In the eye. Her alcoholic mother resents her; her married boyfriend, Correa, beats her; and their fourteen-year-old daughter thinks life would be better anywhere but with America. So when America is offered the chance to work as alive-in housekeeper and nanny for a family in Westchester County, New York, she takes it as a sign that a door to escape has been opened. Yet even as America revels in the comparative luxury of her new life, daring to care about a man other than Correa, she is faced with dramatic proof that no matter what she does, she can't get away from her past. more...

Price: $10.99

Cheap Meat follows the controversial trade in inexpensive fatty cuts of lamb or mutton called "flaps," from the farms of New Zealand and Australia to their primary markets in the Pacific islands of Papua New Guinea, Tonga, and Fiji. In this engrossing story, Deborah Gewertz and Frederick Errington address the evolution of the meat trade itself along with the changing practices of exchange in Papua New Guinea. More importantly, they show that flaps-which are taken from the animals' bellies and are often 50% fat-are not mere market transactions but are evidence of the social nature of nutrition policies, illustrating and reinforcing Pacific Islanders' presumed second-class status relative to the white populations of Australia and New Zealand. Not only are flaps' consumers aware that those who produce and purvey these cuts of meat consider them to be inferior, but many observers attribute the "lifestyle diseases" that often afflict Pacific Islanders to their consumption. Cheap Meat shows that the debate over fatty meat is emblematic of the often fraught geopolitical relationships in this Pacific region as well as in the fast foods controversies in the United States. more...

Price: $18.00

Going behind the scenes in two urban luxury hotels, this study gives a picture of the workers who care for and cater to wealthy guests by providing seemingly unlimited personal attention. Drawing on in-depth interviews and extended ethnographic research in a range of hotel jobs, it gives an analysis of what exactly luxury service consists of. more...

Price: $15.95

Tracing the rich story of Bulgaria from pre-history to the political upheavals of the twentieth century. The new edition includes the years from 1995 to 2004, a vital period in which Bulgaria elected its former King as prime minister and secured admission to the European Union. more...

Price: $20.00

A quiet revolution has been occurring in post-World War II Europe. A world power has emerged across the Atlantic that is recrafting the rules for how a modern society should provide economic security, environmental sustainability, and global stability. In Europe's Promise, Steven Hill explains Europe's bold new vision. For a decade Hill traveled widely to understand this uniquely European way of life. He shatters myths and shows how Europe's leadership manifests in five major areas: economic strength, with Europe now the world's wealthiest trading bloc, nearly as large as the U.S. and China combined; the best health care and other workfare supports for families and individuals; widespread use of renewable energy technologies and conservation; the world's most advanced democracies; and regional networks of trade, foreign aid, and investment that link one third of the world to the European Union. Europe's Promise masterfully conveys how Europe has taken the lead in this make-or-break century challenged by a worldwide economic crisis and global warming. more...

Price: $20.00