Betafo, a rural community in central Madagascar, is divided between the
descendants of nobles and descendants of slaves. Anthropologist David
Graeber arrived for fieldwork at the height of tensions attributed to a
disastrous communal ordeal two years earlier. As Graeber uncovers the
layers of historical, social, and cultural knowledge required to
understand this event, he elaborates a new view of power, inequality,
and the political role of narrative. Combining theoretical subtlety, a
compelling narrative line, and vividly drawn characters, Lost People
is a singular contribution to the anthropology of politics and the
literature on ethnographic writing.