Non-Required Reading

[Waw]

I have some spare time on my hands these days and access to an excellent library, so I'm thinking of looking up some good books in the field of Anthropology (and its friends and acquaintances). I'm very good at finding the things that are related to my specific interests, but some of the best ethnographies and other works I've read over the past few years have been completely unrelated, and often suggested randomly by a friend or tutor as something they particularly like. So I'd be interested in hearing your suggestions - what have you read recently (or not so recently!) that you thought was particularly awesome?

I'll get the ball rolling with Judith Okely's 'The Traveller-Gypsies', which I liked immediately and enjoyed thoroughly.

[tanshp]

Soul Hunters by Rane Willerslev.

Really interesting ethnography about Yukaghir hunters in Siberia. Involves mimesis, phenomenology, animism, and as the author constantly repeats, "taking animism seriously." This book doesn't really have anything to do with my research, but it has definitely shaped the way I approach my topic now.

[Apegirl]

For bio anthro I highly recommend anything by Frans De Waal, especially “Our Inner Ape.” Even if bio anthropology isn’t your thing, Dr. De Waal is such a good author. All of his books are really easy to read.

Also “Mothers and Others” by Sarah Hrdy is great. I recently read “Almost Chimpanzee” by Jon Cohen, who is a journalist, not a scientist. The book is really well researched and a fantastic read.

Even though my concentration isn’t cultural, I really enjoyed “Nisa” by Marjorie Shostak. It is about the life of a !Kung woman. I honestly couldn’t put it down.

I better stop there or I will go on all afternoon

[new mexico]

John Lukacs's At the End of An Age.

Edited March 1, 2011 by new mexico

[UNCAnthro]

I love the topic, thanks for posting it.

David Graeber's "Lost People" was one of those books for me. It's totally outside of my thematic and geographic interests but it was a very interesting read and has influenced the way I write and the way I perceive political organization.

Max Havelaar by Eduard Douwes Dekker was a novel that also influenced me quite a lot.

[Waw]

I definitely recommend 'Nisa' as well - such a great book.

I'll try and get the others! They're all excitingly out of the scope of what I would normally read.