The Rites of Passage

"...translation of van Gennep's classic work in Ethnography, ....... Birth, puberty, marriage, death -- these and other crises in man's journey through life prompt the ritual ceremonies that van Gennep called the 'Rites of Passage'. van gennep, a distinguished anthropologist, was the first observer of human behaviour to note that these ceremonies differ only in detail from one culture to another, and that they are in essence universal. ... [from back cover]