Customer Reviews

The Essence of Anthropology

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I really love this book and the class I need it for! I haven't been bored reading it yet, and I usually fall asleep when reading textbooks... lol

I was required to read this book for a class in anthropology. And I'm glad I did, because anthropology is certainly interesting. However, this book is very dry and boring, and I constantly had to re-focus my attention to reading. My main gripe about this book is that the authors claim to have an unbiased, holistic approach to anthropology but they just cannot seem to get past their own biases. For instance, they equate ancient cannibalism to the modern practice of capital punishment! And, they blame cannibalism in New Guinea, not on the aborigines who did the man-eating, but on European settlers. They also blame white European settlers for the "shift" in native American Indians from a peaceful people to a warrior people. However, anyone who knows history knows that most native American Indians brutally killed others from different tribes for centuries. The authors side with lesser known cultures, stressing how great their lives are compared to Western cultures. Now there may be some truth to that in the idea that fewer pressures exist upon poorer lesser peoples, but they fail to mention how so many of these people (like food-foragers) die younger then people in more developed cultures and typically are less healthy; which means, these lesser (I don't mean inferior) cultures depend on Western societies for their health conditions. There are so many silly liberal assumptions in this book. I would say that if you are serious about an interesting subject as anthropology is, don't waste your time and money on this book. I know there are plenty of liberals in this field with biased views who can actually contain themselves and write a decent book without all the same ol guilty liberal garbage that is saturated in this one.
I don't hate this book for the fact that it is an introduction to anthropology and you will learn something new if you don't know much about the field as I did not, just not acceptable if you want to take anthropology seriously.

Condition was good as describe. Pages was clean. However,there were Black pen scribbles cross-outs on the back and front covers. I had to clean them/rub them off. Will not buy from this seller again.

The book arrived very fast and was in great condition. Would definately buy from this seller again!

For a used book I am pleased with the condition of the book. It's not written on at all.

got the book for 2 dollars was in great condition and very fast shipping thanks. I will be using you guys again.

The book was in great condition just like the seller said it was going to be. I was very happy.

I did better just buying the book on campus. It was like an already done coloring book. Just about everything was highlighted and book was in terrible condition like an old newspaper.

The Essence of Anthropology does a great job of taking a very readable and approachable tone. Unfortunately, the authors sling their biases everywhere, making a big mess all over the text. A book of this nature should be written from a disinterested perspective. The authors write it from a hyper-liberal perspective.

For instance, they refrain from judging cultures based on marriage practices. Arranged marriages in India are fine and dandy. Polygyny is cast in a positive light. But as soon as you get to same-sex marriage, you get this series of paragraphs:

"The arguments most commonly marshaled by opponents of same-sex unions are, first, that marriage has always been between males and females, but as we have just seen, this is not true. Same-sex marriages have been documented not only for a number of societies in Africa but in other parts of the world as well. As among the Nandi, they provide acceptable positions in society for individuals who might otherwise be marginalized.

"A second argument against same-sex unions is that they legitimize gays and lesbians, whose sexual orientations have been widely regarded as unnatural. But again, as discussed in earlier chapters, neither cross-cultural studies nor studies of other animal species suggest that homosexual behavior is unnatural.

"A third argument, that the function of marriage is to produce children, is at best a partial truth, as marriage involves economic, political, and legal considerations as well...."

This happens time and time again. No judgment from our fair-minded intellectual authors until a conservative viewpoint is on the table, in which case it is reduced to their silly understanding of it, beat up, and cast aside.

So much for unbiased.

The whole book is like this. Anthropology should be about understanding humanity, not trashing Western culture.