Anthropology

• Light at the Edge of the World: A Journey Through the Realm of Vanishing Cultures by Wade Davis (National Geographic Society, 2002). From the rain forests of the Amazon to the Canadian arctic, and from Borneo to Kenya, Tibet and Haiti, the author takes us on a worldwide journey of discovery, informed by his 25 years experience as a field anthropologist. As one would expect from a National Geographic book, this is lavishly illustrated with more than 75 stunning photographs.
• Shamans Through Time : 500 Years on the Path to Knowledge edited by Jeremy Narby and Francis Huxley (J P Tarcher, 2001). The first broadly-based study of shamanism, this study shows us that while shamanistic practices have changed very little in the past 500 years, the perceptions of them and reactions to them among outsiders has changed dramatically. Comparing reports of missionaries, explorers, anthropologists, botanists, ethnographers and psychologists, the authors trace the evolving beliefs about shamanism, and explore the signifcance of modern beliefs and policies.
• Culture's Consequences : Comparing Values, Behaviors, Institutuions, and Organizations Across Nations by Geert Hofstede (Sage Publications, 2001). Using statistical analyses of attitude surveys and behavioral observations the author examines 50 modern nations, and attempts to construct national norms based on differences in behavior and expectations.
• Pigs for the Ancestors : Ritual in the Ecology of a New Guinea People by Roy A. Rappaport (Waveland Press, 2000). An enlarged and updated edition of a classic study, this groundbreaking report contributes to anthropological theory and methodology while remaining an accessible description of the specific tribal culture.
• The Forensic Anthropology Training Manual by Karen Ramey Burns (Prentice Hall, 1999). A practical guide to the identification of skeletal remains and other clues to possible criminal activity.
• Applied Anthropology: Tools and Perspectives for Contemporary Practice by Alexander M. Ervin (Allyn & Bacon, 1999). Emphasizing method over theory, this useful book gives the student of anthropological research the tools needed to make sense of unfamiliar cultural practices. Amply illustrated with case studies.