"We have been waiting decades for a book that would show us how important the post-socialist transition is for our understanding of cultural transformation more generally. This is that book. Ethnographically compelling and a great read, this book is first and foremost a major contribution to social theory--one that will change the way we think about social action, time, and change itself going forward."--Joel Robbins, University of Cambridge "Revealing and thought-provoking in equal measure, this remarkable book opens a window into the lives of Mongolians overtaken by the collapse of state socialism and thrust into an era of 'transition.'"--David Sneath, author of The Headless State: Aristocratic Orders, Kinship Society, and Misrepresentations of Nomadic Inner Asia "These richly drawn portraits from Mongolia of twenty years back may tell us much about economic and social free fall in a particular time and place, but the real strength of this book is how easily its sharp insights map onto an increasingly global predicament of the urban dispossessed."--Bruce Grant, New York University.