Wheeling and Dealing

"Richard Davis's admirable translation of Ouyang Xiu's Historical Record of the Five Dynasties, makes available in English an invaluable source for the study of both the crucial century of transition between the Tang and Song dynasties and the emergence of the new literati consciousness of the eleventh century." -- Peter Bol, Harvard University "This is a remarkable achievement that will certainly prove valuable for all researchers on late medieval and early modern China." -- Victor H. Mair, editor of The Columbia History of Chinese Literature "Richard Davis's wonderfully fluent translation makes available in English one of the most important histories of the period between the Tang and Song dynasties. In recent years historians have come to realize just how important this fifty years was to China's overall development for many of the innovations that the Song pioneered actually dated to this time. This translation provides entree for anyone interested in this period, whether a starting student or an advanced scholar." -- Valerie Hansen, Yale University

Offering a rare glimpse of an elite Southern Californian community of drug dealers, this volume traces the lives of the author's key informants over a 15-year span as they entered, ascended and then quit the drug world. This revised edition reveals the current fate of several of the informants.Wheeling and Dealing is a vivid account of the world inhabited by "wholesale" illicit drug traffickers. Based on six years of participant observation, fieldwork, and extensive interviews in an elite Southern California community of dealers, the book gives a rare glimpse into the decadent yet fascinating "subculture of drug trafficking and unending partying, mixed with occasional cloak-and-dagger subterfuge." This second edition brings the story up to date by revealing the fate of several of Adler's key informants. By tracing their lives over a fifteen-year span, Adler offers a unique longitudinal perspective on deviant careers and the reintegration of dealers into conventional society. She also analyzes the unintended consequences of the federal government's war on drugs, tying it to the increasing violence and organizational sophistication of drug traffickers and the rise of international cartels.