These first hand documentations also offer an important anthropological record of the old ways that some Gypsies still cling to as it clashes with today�s modern world. We are today at a crossroads in Gypsy history: much of what we see today � will be gone tomorrow.
The main focus of the book is Romania where exist some forty differing Gypsy tribes beginning with the tinkering Kaldarari: recognized by their long flowery dresses � and attitude, the symbolic black against white costume of the Florari: controllers of the cities� floral industry, the distrustful Gabor: legendary warriors, sporting wide-brimmed hats over thickly, Wyatt Earp style mustaches, medieval Horahane: the Muslim Gypsy, Zavraji (palm�readers), the highly adaptable Ursari (former bear trainers), Fierari (the blacksmiths), the revered Lautari, the musicians, the Caramidari, (brick-makers) still molding their forms under bare feet and blackened hands, Lingurari: makers of wooden spoons, the lowly Kokalari: the scavengers and Hingher: eaters of dead animals.�
Though the main focus falls over the Balkan territories, the book also introduces the tribes of Western Europe such as the Cale (Blacks) of Spain , Sinti of Germany and Manouches in France (both known for their entertaining skills), the controversial Albanian �Egyptians�, as well as the Mid-Eastern Dom, Lom of the Southern Caucasus and Lyuli of Central Asia.
Gypsy topics found in the non-fiction department greatly varies: there has been much written about them, yet not a single author has yet to discussed the society of tribes in more depth than a single page or two. The topic, when focused on the twelve lost tribes of Israel , the tribes of Native-America or Indian caste system has been well documented � but nothing has been written on the Gypsy tribes. It�s a subject scarcely found on the internet! And yet it�s an important element to Gypsy life - it�s their identity - their roots! They unite within these clans and dismiss the others. It�s an oversight that is sometimes politically motivated. Gypsy authorities fear the schisms these differentiated groups can cause, the rifts between them are deep: some Gypsies refuse marrying outside their tribes, lower-level Gypsies are looked down upon, and while others are so estranged that they call themselves their own ethnic group.
It is not only the topic that sets this book apart from all of the many others about Gypsies, but also the valuable research.
While most of my contemporaries have gathered the bulk of their evidence from contemporary sources, I have accumulated an extensive bibliography of archival records, localized literature and legends. I have gone directly to the source: the village Gypsy, local archives where the tribes roamed and the slave owning monasteries where monks used both rod and cross to shape them.
However, I believe the greatest value of this book comes through in the first hand experiences documented from over five uninterrupted years of living with the Gypsies. I entered into their segregated communities without entourage, guide, or other authoritative figure, but alone so as to see the Gypsies for whom they really are (and in some cases I paid for that). I learned their languages: the language of the majority and their argot tongue. I have researched close to 300 communities of all the different tribes, partook in the meals, the work, the banter around the campfire and at night I shared their beds. My goals were to fully understand these greatly misunderstood people by becoming like one of them.