Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Riveting story from a distant land, September 9, 1999
By A Customer
With Into the Heart, Good and Chanoff have created that all-too-rare phenomenon-- a book that can be equally enjoyed by the general reader and the academic specialist. A riveting account of Good's years with the Yanomami people of Venezuela and Brazil, it can be read as a rich ethnography, an "insider's view" of the scientific research process, an edge-of-your-seat travel yarn, or a rainforest version of "Romeo and Juliet." I first encountered it quite by chance in the trade-book section of a chain bookstore, where the word "Yanomami" on the cover caught my eye. In my graduate training as a cultural anthropologist, I had read descriptions of the Yanomami characterizing them as "the fierce people." jungle warriors whose obsession with violence and warfare alledgedly proved that human nature was innately nasty and brutish. So I was both astonished and pleased to read Good's nuanced descriptions of life in a Yanomami village, to find that this much-maligned group was composed of unique, complex individuals, some aggressive, some gentle, all impressively resourceful in adapting to their rainforest environment. I now use it as an auxiliary text in my introductory classes, and student response has been overwhelmingly positive. Good's discussion of his research brings to life the interplay of scientific theory and data in a dramatic and accessible way. At the same time, his sketches of daily life among the Yanomami transport the reader so effectively that one can almost smell the meat roasting on the campfires, hear the low murmur of voices punctuating the night, feel the rhythm of lives enjoyed in attunement with nature and kin. The Yanomami no longer seem like strangers in a strange land, but like neighbors-- people we feel we know. And then there's the love story that propels the narrative and provides suspense, the memoir of gradually flowering trust, tenderness, and commitment between Ken and Yarima, the Yanomamo woman who would become his wife and the mother of their three children. The emotional richness of their struggle to preserve love in the face of immense cultural barriers is especially appealing to college-age readers, and probably explains why more than one undergraduate has confessed that "Ken Good's book was the only one I read cover-to-cover this semester-- I just had to find out what happened!" A rare human document that can be enjoyed on many levels, this unique story will find its way "into the heart" of any reader who enters its rainforest world-- and will not be soon forgotten.
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20 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A GIFT TO HUMANITY, October 30, 1999
By A Customer
"Into the Heart" by Kenneth Good with David Chanoff was for me the most inspiring book of this decade and this century. When I began reading it, I could not put it down until I read the last sentence, in the wee hours of the morning.This book had such an impact on me that I was compelled to read it over and over again. It was THIS BOOK that inspired me to travel to the Amazon in October 1999. I would highly recommend this excellent account of life among stone age people for anyone who has an open mind and wants to learn of aboriginal cultures in South America. This book is for everyone who likes to read about adventure, travel, altruism, love, and the dangers one may encounter travelling in "unchartered waters." It would have been difficult for me not to identify with the protagonist (the author)as I read of his struggles to learn the language, to gain acceptance in Yanomami society, to learn the simple code of ethics in a primitive culture as well as his efforts to acquire survival skills such as learning to fish, hunt, climb trees, go on long treks. My own sense of wonder and excitement grew when I read of the author's "first contact" with hitherto uncontacted Yanomami tribes, and the reaction of these people upon seeing an outsider-a white man-for the first time! I was filled with admiration for the author when I read in chapter 9 that he distributed his very last malaria pill to a Yanomami tribesman, a deed for which he almost paid the ultimate price. His inner struggles with his conscience are apparent when in chapter 7 the author could no longer be the casual observer, the detached scientist-researcher, and allow the stabbing of a poor, whimpering, malaria stricken woman. A scientist in the field is supposed to observe but not intervene. By putting his feelings first, he saved a life. Upon reading this book, I felt the utter despair that the author must have experienced when he thought he would lose his wife, Yarima, because of needless red tape, delaying his permit to return to her and her tribe. I also felt his happiness upon finding her again. I was sorry to learn when I saw the National Geographic documentary entitled "Yanomami Homecoming" that Yarima decided not to return to the USA with her husband and children, especially since she indicated in the documentary that she loved her husband. This was why she had married him and moved to New Jersey where she lived for 6 years trying to adapt to western life. My life was greatly enriched by reading this book. I had learned a great deal about birth and death in Yanomami society, about funeral practices, incest taboos, practising agriculture in the jungle, strange customs such as body painting and other forms of body beautification. Having read several other books about indigenous people of the Amazon I can truly say, this book eclipses them all. Books I have read about the Yanomami include: "Amazon" and "Savages" both by Dennison Berwick; "Aborigines of the Amazon Rainforest" by Robin Hanbury Tenison; and "Amazon Journal" by Geoffrey O'Connor. From an avid reader in Alberta, Canada, October 30, 1999 *****
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fascinating Reading for University Students, November 5, 1999
I am a sociologist, and have used Good and Chanoff's book, Into the Heart, as required reading in one of my courses for four years in a row. It's a large second-year course on comparative sociology, and it aims to help students develop an ability to understand and analyze societies of very different types. To this end, the course blends sociology, anthropology and history. The book Into the Heart was originally brought to my attention by a college representative of its publishing company; she said it was one of the most fascinating books she'd ever read, and she thought it might work well in my course. I dutifully began to read it, and wound up making the decision to adopt it even before I'd finished reading it -- I found it that good. Four years later, now, I can say this: out of all the books I've used as required reading in all the courses I've taught, none has ever caught the attention of my students as well as Into the Heart. I've had students come up to me spontaneously to say things like it was the most interesting book they'd ever read, that having started it they'd stayed up all night reading it, that they'd bought a copy for a friend as a Christmas present, etc. The book is unique in my experience in that way. The issues it revolves around divide opinion among students, but it seems to never fail to fascinate them, and the disagreements make for excellent discussions class discussions. My teaching assistants tell me the same about their experiences with it in the tutorials they run. They also tell me that the students engage themselves with this book like no other. I'd encourage anyone to read it, and would specifically encourage faculty looking for captivating reading for their students, in relevant courses, to check it out.
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