"This book captures the intricacies of the person and oeuvre of Marcel Mauss, whose impact has not subsided nor should it. Mauss's work and example deserve consideration by anyone intent on challenging easy economistic approaches to social practices, historical dynamics, cultural life, and religious observation. Mauss is a model for resisting reductionism."--James A. Boon, Professor of Anthropology, Princeton University, author of "Verging on Extra-vagance: Anthropology, History, Religion, Literature, Arts . . . Showbiz"
Praise for the original, French edition: "Fournier's book is by far the most informed and comprehensive study of Mauss yet to appear in any language. It is an indispensable source of information about Mauss and his colleagues and no student of the Durkheimians or Durkheimian sociology can do without it. For all those who wish to understand the lives and intellectual context of Durkheim and the Durkheimians and of Mauss in particular, and who do not read French, an English translation of this work will prove of great value."--Steven Lukes, New York University, author of "Emile Durkheim: His Life and Work"
Praise for the original, French edition: "Absolutely fascinating. Mauss is a much talked about figure-by anthropologists, by historians of the French Third Republic and the Vichy regime, and by scholars of Jewish history."--Natalie Zemon Davis, Professor Emeritus of History, Princeton University, author of "The Gift in Sixteenth-Century France"
