Wisdom From the Edge describes what anthropologists can do to contribute to the social and cultural changes that shape a social future of wellbeing and viability. Paul Stoller shows how anthropologists can develop sensuously described ethnographic narratives to communicate powerfully their insights to a wide range of audiences. These insights are filled with wisdom about how respect for nature is central to the future of humankind. Stoller demonstrates how the ethnographic evocation of space and place, the honing of dialogue, and the crafting of character depict the drama of social life, and borrows techniques from film, poetry, and fiction to expand the appeal of anthropological knowledge and heighten its ability to connect the public to the idiosyncrasies of people and locale. Ultimately, Wisdom from the Edge underscores the importance of recognizing and applying indigenous wisdom to the social problems that threaten the future.

Paul Stoller is Professor of Anthropology at West Chester University and Permanent Fellow at the Center for Advanced Studies in the Humanities and Social Sciences at Friedrich Alexander University/Erlangen-Nuremberg. He is the author of fifteen books and, in 2013, was awarded the Anders Retzius Gold Medal in Anthropology by the King of Sweden.

By advocating for an artful, patient, and sensuous engagement with the subject matter, Stoller questions existing paradigms and offers a pathway toward more transformative research. This book is a must-read for anyone seeking to understand the rich undercurrents of human experience and the potential of anthropology to incite meaningful change in our turbulent times.

But what sets this book apart from such a phrase is that here is a text that is should be – of interest to everyone in anthropology because it allows us to rediscover what it is that our discipline can do.

Fiona Murphy, Dublin City University, coauthor of Integration in Ireland:

This wonderful book moved me to tears. In elegant prose, Stoller pushes the reader to engage, to know more, to inhabit the weave of ethnography, theory, and thinking about writing in troubled times. It offers a much-needed and inspiring vision of our world.

Alisse Waterston, CUNY, author of Light in Dark Times:

Paul Stoller practices what he preaches about storytelling in narrative ethnography and this book is a testament to his devotion to writing evocatively. Readers will walk away from this book newly energized and with a strong sense that anthropologists have, can and will write beautiful, powerful stories.