'Holmqvist’s intriguing study of a Swedish welfare agency organization, based on a Chicago sociology-style ethnography, provides first-hand insight into the everyday work life of an organization whose political ambitions and rationale do not always translate into practices that help the unemployed return to the regular labour market. This well-researched and informed scholarly work will be of interest to both organization theorists and policy makers.' Alexander Styhre, Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden 'The strengths of the work undoubtedly lie in the extensive amount of qualitative data that is presented and its organization. ... Holmqvist's study will undoubtedly prove invaluable to anyone with an interest in the ways in which disability is produced as a category through social policy. In particular, it adds considerably to a relative dearth of research about how actions at a micro-social level play a role of equal, or perhaps greater, significance to policies in shaping the category and experience of disability.' Sociology