{"product_id":"the-enigma-of-the-gift-maurice-godelier-9780226300450","title":"The Enigma of the Gift","description":"When we think of giving gifts, we think of exchanging objects that carry with them economic or symbolic value. But is every valuable thing a potentially exchangeable item, whose value can be transferred? In \u003ci\u003eThe Enigma of the Gift\u003c\/i\u003e, the distinguished French anthropologist Maurice Godelier reassesses the significance of gifts in social life by focusing on sacred objects, which are never exchanged despite the value they possess. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBeginning with an analysis of the seminal work of Marcel Mauss and Claude L騅i-Strass, and drawing on his own fieldwork in Melanesia, Godelier argues that traditional theories are flawed because they consider only exchangeable gifts. By explaining gift-giving in terms of sacred objects and the authoritative conferral of power associated with them, Godelier challenges both recent and traditional theories of gift-giving, provocatively refreshing a traditional debate. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eElegantly translated by Nora Scott, \u003ci\u003eThe Enigma of the Gift\u003c\/i\u003e is at once a major theoretical contribution and an essential guide to the history of the theory of the gift. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Maurice Godelier\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0226300455\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780226300450\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University of Chicago Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 02\/03\/1999\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 264\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.94lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.09h x 6.04w x 0.82d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eChronicle of Higher Education\u003c\/i\u003e 08\/07\/2009 pg. 20","brand":"Maurice Godelier","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":43913427288319,"sku":"9780226300450","price":33.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/products\/img_5d714529-4d80-4fcc-a624-035fb12f9909.jpg?v=1680620352","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/the-enigma-of-the-gift-maurice-godelier-9780226300450","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}