Unlike other introductory texts which often present anthropology as a checklist of facts to be memorized, this lively, innovative text presents cultural anthropology as an adventure—focusing on students' curiosity about their own participation in humanness, and incorporating the excitement of field discoveries throughout. Combining the features of an introductory text with the vitality of ethnographic accounts, it first presents the basic concepts relating to culture and social organization, applies them to specific cultures, and concludes with a survey of contemporary issues and contributions in the field of anthropology.