Bronislaw Malinowski achieved international recognition as the founder of "functionalism" in social anthropology, based on his studies of Melanesian society on the Trobriand Islands off New Guinea. His Crime and Custom in Savage Society is now one of the classic works of modern anthropology. In his book, Malinowski describes and analyzes the ways in which Trobriand Islanders structure and maintain the social and economic order of their tribe. This is essential reading for anyone interested in anthropology.

"Now and then a book is written which cuts mercilessly through an accumulation of traditional conceptions and by the light of overlooked or misinterpreted facts and common sense shows us how absurd the orthodox ideas have really been. Such a book is this volume of Dr. Malinowski's, which brilliantly, concisely, and in non-technical language demonstrates how very wrong and indeed impossible are the currently accepted views of some of the fundamentals of savage life." - Saturday Review