This text book lives up to its title. Steering clear of the formulaic approach taken by textbooks, Silverman seeks to challenge some underlying assumptions about the nature of qualitative research. This book comes highly recommended, both for those interested in qualitative research, as well as students who like a challenge - Carole Murphy, Network. Clear and incisive, this valuable text needs to be on every qualitative researcher's bookshelf. What could be handier? I recommend it to anyone in the trade for its seasoned good sense and advice - Jay Gubrium, University of Missouri. David Sil.