“A superb book.”

New Yorker

"A classic work of area studies."

Robert D. Kaplan | New York Times

“Ethiopia’s abiding problem is the symbiosis of her autochthonous civilization with the demands of an uncompromising modern world. . . . Nobody has yet described the dilemma, its origin, its magnitude and possible ways of resolving it with greater ability and understanding.”

Times Literary Supplement

“Both a sociological work and an entertaining travel narrative.”

Chicago Tribune

“The literature on Ethiopia is conspicuous for the absence of studies attempting to combine comprehensiveness of coverage with true analytical depth. [Wax and Gold] fills this gap and does it so effectively that for most readers sampling it will be equivalent to discovering a new world. . . . Not to be missed.”

Library Journal

“An important, insightful, and excellent book. . . . With remarkable freedom, virtuosity, and success [Levine] forays from his own base as a sociologist into the domains of anthropologists, psychologists, historians, and linguists.”

American Journal of Sociology

“Levine performs the most ancient scholarly task well, that of the sage, who leads us to see the eternal wisdom hidden behind the veil of everyday concerns.”

American Sociological Review