The Gift: Forms and Functions of Exchange in Archaic Societies

Marcel Mauss was Emil Durkheim’s nephew and protégé. Durkheim’s attention and support paid off. In THE GIFT, Mauss ponders The Big Idea. The idea of reciprocal giving may be the primary act of all individual human relationships and all societies. Mauss examines gifts and giving across several cultures from American Indians, Asian Indians, Polynesian Islanders to Ancient Romans. These phenomena of exchange he says are “at the same time juridical, economic, religious, and even aesthetic and morphological, etc.” He justifies this statement on many levels. This is a profound work that allowed me to see things as I had never seen them before and can never see again in the same way. It’s a brief, but pithy book. I don’t think it’s possible to do a superficial reading. The actual text covers 83 pages, but there are an additional 74 of notes that are essential. Allow yourself some time to read this. I’m not really sure that I agree with Mauss’s conclusion, which seemed a bit wishy-washy to me, but I’d nonetheless recommend this to any thinking person. Pure gold. Five stars.

Mauss's book is life changing. I never really understood the implications of gifts until I read this. It's not for weak readers, though. There are plenty of uses of Latin, and if you're not willing to look up a lot of it, you might get lost. This is a foundational work of Anthropology, so it takes some effort. But it's certainly worthwhile -- and might explain your relationships for the first time!

A well-researched historical and anthropological work; an enlightening perspective on gift economies and social consciousness. A book that clearly distinguishes contemporary one-dimensional society from advanced culture in many archaic societies. A mite difficult for the lay reader.

great

Needed this for my Soc Theory course.

Used this book in an intro to anthropology class and we kept referring back to the ideas presented in the book. It's a must read for anthropologists but not exactly as entertaining as Stephen King

This is what I still see in the South Pacific. A very good account of systems such as kerikeri.

As expected, an amazing book about gift cycles in cultures and the extremely important role they play.

love it