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Life is currently one of the most active zones of politics and economic production, as biological material is increasingly the subject of engineering, banking, reproduction, and exchange. These developments represent some of the most challenging issues facing humanity in the twenty-first century and call for new forms of engagement - and new anthropologies of life. Reflecting upon the changing human condition, Palsson addresses various conflated zones of life at particular times and scales, from the genome to the human body and the global environment. Using a 'biosocial' perspective, he argues, will help us to capture the hybrid nature of life, enhancing our sensitivity to differences and similarities in hierarchies, the reproduction of bio-objects and the exchange between humans, other species, and the environment. Engaging with topical issues on the public agenda, from personal genomics to human-animal relations to the global environment, the book sets out a compelling case for meaningful change.

Introduction: "As deep as life itself" -- Birthmarks become landmarks : "little worlds in themselves" -- Genealogies, relationships, and histories -- Biobanking : medical records and genetic databases -- For whom the cell tolls : bioethics -- Biovalue : appropriating genomes -- Human variation -- Conclusion

After being born into slavery in St. Croix in 1784, Hans was taken as a slave to Denmark. Having enlisted in the navy and fighting on behalf of Denmark, he declared himself a free man. When he lost one of the most notorious slavery cases in European history, Hans ran away--never to be heard from in Denmark again. After over two hundred years, it was discovered that he fled to Iceland, where he became a merchant and farmer, married, and raised two children. Today, he has become something of an Icelandic icon, claimed for his daring life and courage.--From front book flap.

Gambling Debt is a game-changing contribution to the discussion of economic crises and neoliberal financial systems and strategies. Iceland?s 2008 financial collapse was the first case in a series of meltdowns, a warning of danger in the global order. This full-scale anthropology of financialization and the economic crisis broadly discusses this momentous bubble and burst and places it in theoretical, anthropological, and global historical context through descriptions of the complex developments leading to it and the larger social and cultural implications and consequences