Presents a collection of essays that deal with the aftermath of Soviet-style socialism and the different forms that may replace it. This book explores the nature of socialism in order to understand its consequences. "Verdery starts always with real people's thoughts and experiences, putting her inquiries on a solid footing that both statistics-heavy economic reports and arid efforts at political theorizing conspicuously lack. This solidity is a boon to those who want to understand how formerly existing socialism came to be what it was--and a warning to those who traffic in simple models of how it is being surpassed."---Joel Robbins, In These Times