"Political anthropology of a high order. Singerman shows how family ties empower people...Her picture of women black marketeers is especially revealing. As a social scientist, she is determined to challenge the stereotype of the passive urban poor, and she makes a largely successful case for seeing politics in other than elite terms."
Foreign Affairs "[An] outstanding piece of scholarship that forces ... Read moreus to rethink and broaden our understanding of political participation to better appreciate the alternative institutions that marginalized communities create in order to satisfy their political and economic needs... [Singerman's] vivid account is one of only a handful of studies that provide a detailed picture of the daily political and economic experiences of lower-class communities in the Middle East."
Guilain Denoeux, American Journal of Sociology "Singerman's work cuts across a variety of disciplines
comparative political science, anthropology and sociology, women's studies, and economics
and all are handled deftly... She is a superb writer and has produced an enjoyable, informative, and challenging piece of scholarship."
Denis J. Sullivan, Middle East Journal Show Less