"In this volume, Arthur Kleinman tells the stories of a handful of men and women, some of whom have lived through some of the most turbulent transitions of the twentieth century. He shows how in such moments of extreme pressure, our morality - even our very identity - can be changed, for worse and for better." "Their stories reveal just how challenging moral life is, and just how precarious are our worlds and our livelihood. Indeed, Kleinman offers in this book a groundbreaking approach to ethics, examining "who we are" through some of the most disturbing issues of our time - war, globalization, poverty, social injustice, sex, and religion - and what they mean to moral life as it is actually lived."--BOOK JACKET.