New Lives for Old

<p><strong>This edition of <em>New Lives for Old</em> prepared for the centennial of Mead's birth features introductions by Stewart Brand and Mead's daughter Mary Catherine Bateson.</strong></p><p>When Margaret Mead first studied the Manus Islanders of New Guinea in 1928 they were living with a Stone Age technology and economically vulnerable; they seemed ill-equipped to handle the massive impact that World War II had on their secluded world. But a unique set of circumstances allowed the Manus to adapt swiftly to the twentieth century and their experience led Mead to develop a revolutionary theory of cultural transformation one that favors rapid over piecemeal change. As relevant today as it was a half-century ago <em>New Lives for Old</em> is an optimistic examination of a society that chose to change.</p>