Customer Reviews

Assault on Paradise

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I really enjoyed Assault on Paradise, because of the author's honesty in telling the story of the ecological degradation and the social benefits of the changing of Arembepe. Kottak presents himself as a man, not some untouchable holier than though scholar.

Assault on Paradise explores the social and ecological changes of the fishing village of Arembepe, Bahia Brazil. Paying attention to the changes in Arembepe values toward attitudes of work, economic inequality, and division of labor, fishing, tourism, and manufacturing labor. It explains social networks, the nature of family life, friendships, and work groups. The main forces that brought about change were the introduction of new technologies, the motorization of the fishing industry, industrial pollution, the growth of Arembepe due to a paved highway, the ippi invasion and tourism.

Conrad Kottack visited the little town of Arembepe, Brazil three separate times: in the 1960s, in the 1970s and the 1980s. As a cultural anthropologist, he diligently documented all of the changed that occurred in that village on each occasion he had to visit. When the three visits are all added together, it's easy to see the way that increased industrialization has impacted even the most remote areas of the world. If you're at all interested in international development, anthropology, or other cultures, I would highly recommend this book.

Thank you, Mr. Kottak, for such an entertaining read! This book is intelligent and the writing is beautifully clear. There are very few social scientific accounts that have been able to trace social change through decades of direct participant observation. I found this account both insightful and engrossing. I'm sure you will appreciate this work.

I am a little bit disappointed with how dirty the front of the book is. I felt a little bit uninterested to open and scan the pages because that is what I felt just by looking at the front cover. However, the fast shipping is my only consolation though..and it could be because I opted for expedited shipping. Sorry but I have to be honest with what I feel about the item.

Used as a textbook as part of a Social Anthropology course, this book presents a sad commentary on the imposition of a mechanized culture on a happy, but economically poor (according to OUR standards)culture. The author presents the material in a straightforward, factual manner that is easy to read and understand. If you're looking for blood and gore, this is not the "assault" for you. But if you're interested in a graphic example of what "we" have done to another culture, read this!

This book is very dry in content and very repetitive! How many times do we have to read about the hippies! It is very hard to keep one's attention and interest. Very boring.