"A high wire act of cultural theorizing, ambitious and original. Raud pushes the textual tradition of semiotics further than anybody has ever done, into situated, existential practices and circulating cultural institutions. The case studies are fascinating in themselves and illustrate how Raud's theory might work in practice." —Jeffrey Alexander, Yale University "Professor Raud's range is amazing and his ... Read morebook combines in an exciting way perspectives which usually are kept separate. His voice, coming from a less well-known tradition, adds a genuinely new element." —Maurice Bloch, The London School of Economics and Political Science "Meaning in Action would be worth reading for the ambition and importance of its project alone, but Raud's thorough analysis of the fundamentals of culture make this an extremely worthwhile read, and one that I think may spawn a vital discussion about the basic conceptual structure of culture itself." —Cultural Sociology Show Less