More than a purely intellectual history of the subject, it is a penetrating analysis of the changing social and political contexts in which the subject has functioned, and of the ways in which these external forces have shaped its development. . . . The sheer intelligence and scholarship of this book will be sure to make it the authoritative history of the field for many years to come.
—Man
An extremely rich excursion through the first century (plus) of the discipline. . . . A must for anyone pretending to become or remain au courant in political anthropology. No one to date has written such a complete and interesting history.
—American Anthropologist
Essential reading and a long-term reference book for all who are concerned with how and why anthropology has developed as it has, why certain questions have been asked and others ignored, and how anthropologists have responded to successive intellectual climates and the changing social milieus of the past century and a half. . . . A significant contribution to intellectual history.
—American Ethnologist