apparently, Graeber considered this to be his best book. although it seems like it would only be of interest to researchers on Malagasy history and culture, he explains, "This is a book...about what it means to act politically; to act historically; and about the point at which one begins to slip into the other" and argues "the best way to gain insight into such pan-human questions is to look at people who seem to go about the same things in the most unfamiliar ways." (30-1)

if you read Pirate Enlightenment, which was marketed (dubiously) as the next great hit from the co-author of the bestselling Dawn of Everything, you've read what was really intended as something more like an appendix to this.