A tribute to Jane C. Goodale, Pulling the Right Threads discusses the vibrant ethnographer and teacher's principles for mentoring, collaborating, and performing fieldwork. Known for her ethnographic research in the Pacific, development of the Association of Social Anthropology in Oceania, and influence in the anthropology department at Bryn Mawr College, Goodale and other contributors renew the debate in anthropology over the authenticity of field data and representations of other cultures. Together, they take aim at those who claim ethnography is outmoded or false.

Contributions by: Laura Zimmer-Tamakoshi, Jeanette Dickerson-Putman, Jane C. Goodale, Michele Dominy, Miriam Kahn, Pamela Sheffield Rosi, Deborah Bird Rose, Michael D. Lieber, Joy A Bilharz, William W. Donner, Eric Venbrux, Jane Fajans