Marcel Mauss A General Theory of Magic. Routledge, 2001. Translation by Robert Brain,, with a foreword by D. F. Pocock. 0415253969 vi/183 pages. Softcover volume, with French flaps, measures approximately 5.25" x 8", displays light shelfwear. Binding is firm. Pages are clean and bright.  First written by Marcel Mauss and Henri Humbert in 1902, "A General Theory of Magic" gained a wide new readership when republished by Mauss in 1950. As a study of magic in 'primitive' societies and its survival today in our thoughts and social actions, it represents what Claude Lévi-Strauss called, in an introduction to that edition, the astonishing modernity of the mind of one of the century's greatest thinkers. The book offers a fascinating snapshot of magic throughout various cultures as well as deep sociological and religious insights still very much relevant today. At a period when art, magic and science appear to be crossing paths once again, "A General Theory of Magic" presents itself as a classic for our times.