Anthropology Books

Book SynopsisFrom the Pulitzer Prize winning author of Guns, Germs and SteelMore than 98 % of human genes are shared with two species of chimpanzee. The ''third'' chimpanzee is man. Jared Diamond surveys our life-cycle, culture, sexuality and destructive urges both towards ourselves and the planet to explore the ways in which we are uniquely human yet still influenced by our animal origins.Trade ReviewEloquent and knowledgeable account of the tiny genetic difference between humans and chimps * Independent *Some biologists are just scientists; but some truly are thinkers. Jared Diamond is one of the latter. Whatever he applies himself to, his contribution is original and worthwhile -- Colin TudgeA fascinating portrait with more than enough uncomfortable facts to stop any dinner-party conversation in its tracks - an important book * Financial Times *Confirms Diamond as an impressive scholar and popularizer-an enjoyable, stimulating and audacious book * Nature *

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Book SynopsisThe New York Times bestselling author and Fox News senior meteorologist Janice Dean returns with more inspiring stories of people who know how to find light in dark times.While the news is filled with villains and villainy, we do see a few famous heroes now and again. But what about the everyday heroes? The people going out of their way bring a little love into someone else''s life? They deserve a time in the spotlight to inspire us all.Life can be tough—but it helps to know other people have come through hard times with a smile on their face. In Make Your Own Sunshine, Janice Dean shares inspiring stories that will lift your spirit and touch your heart. Good people are all around us doing selfless deeds, from a firefighter who bravely battled for his colleague’s health after 9/11 to a good Samaritan who secretly pays for the coffees of everyone in line behind him.  You can’t help but smile reading about the teacher who cut her hair to make her student feel better.  And you may shed a tear when you hear the story of the dad who never missed writing a napkin note for his daughter, including stashing extra notes in case he lost his batter with cancer.  From a young man who makes bow ties for dogs waiting to be adopted to an Uber driver who brightened a new mom’s day by helping her buy baby clothes, the heroes in this story will warm your heart and stick in your mind.Janice has made it her mission to uncover and document these good stories to inspire us and gives us a much-needed boost of optimism. All we have to do is open our minds and our hearts, to look for the light on a cloudy day. Because as she reminds us, if we don’t make our own sunshine—who will? 

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Book SynopsisIllustrates the stages of the ethnographic process from inception through the emergence of a focus, and toward a subsequent formalization of methods and analysis. This book also illustrates several approaches designed to reconcile the contradictory demands of the scientific process and human behavior.Trade Review"Agar's writing is lively and informal. He conveys the excitement of his subject while candidly sketching some of the ambiguities and problems that will challenge future ethnographers." --CHOICE "An intriguing and exciting little book... The range of methodological issues covered by Agar is impressive and thorough. Moreover, although he writes primarily for students in anthropology, Agar weaves into his discussion important methodological texts and articles from many social science disciplines, thus making his volume a concise reference for guiding students to further reading on particular issues. The excitement of the book is enhanced also by the diversity of research projects in which Agar has been involved as an ethnographer... There are points of contention that could be raised about the book, and Agar frequently acknowledges that his position on certain issues is debatable. He also intended the book to set up issues 'clearly enough so that other enthographers can agree or argue. In this, he succeeds. As an 'informal introduction, the book covers more ground than the subtitle suggests, ground enough to serve as an important stimulus and guide for students of ethnography both in sociology and in other social disciplines." --CONTEMPORARY SOCIOLOGY "This book is one of the strongest in the field... The book appeals to an audience that grown considerably beyond anthropologists." --JOHN GUMPERTS, University of California, BerkeleyTable of ContentsEthnography Reconstructed: The Stranger at Fifteen. The Concepts of Fieldwork. Getting Started. Who Are You to Do This? Ethnography. Beginning Fieldwork. Narrowing the Focus. Informal to Formal: Some Examples. The Ethnographic Research Proposal. Ethnography in Context.

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Book SynopsisIn The Protestant Ethic, Max Weber opposes the Marxist concept of dialectical materialism and relates the rise of the capitalist economy to the Calvinist belief in the moral value of hard work and the fulfillment of one''s worldly duties.Table of ContentsEdited, Translated, and with an Introduction and Notes by Peter Baehr and Gordon C. WellsIntroductionSuggestions for Further ReadingNote on the TranslationThe Protestant Ethic and the "Spirit" of Capitalism (1905)"Churches" and "Sects" in North America (1906)Critical Remarks in Response to the Foregoing "Critical Contributions" (1907) (Weber's first rejoinder to H. Karl Fischer)Remarks on the Foregoing "Reply" (1908) (Weber's second rejoinder to H. Karl Fischer)Rebuttal of the Critique of the "Spirit" of Capitalism (1910) (Weber's first rejoinder to Felix Rachfahl)A Final Rebuttal of Rachfahl's Critique of the "Spirit of Capitalism" (1910)Appendixes:I. Rejoinders to Wener Sombart and Lujo Brentano (1920)II. Prefatory Remarks to Collected Essays in the Sociology of Religion (1920)

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Book SynopsisThe no. 1 bestselling author of Collapse and Guns, Germs and Steel explores the profound lessons that traditional societies offer us todayOver the past 500 years, the West achieved global dominance, but do Westerners necessarily have better ideas about how to raise children, care for the elderly, or simply live well? In this epic journey into our past, Jared Diamond reveals that traditional societies around the world offer an extraordinary window into how our ancestors lived for the majority of human history - until virtually yesterday, in evolutionary terms. Drawing on decades of his own fieldwork, Diamond explores how tribal people approach essential human problems, from health and diet to conflict resolution and language, and discovers they have much to teach us.Jared Diamond is the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of the seminal million-copy-bestseller Guns, Germs, and Steel, which was named one of TIME''s best non-fiction books of

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Book SynopsisChris Stringer is Britain's foremost expert on human origins and works in the Department of Palaeontology at the Natural History Museum. He also currently directs the Ancient Human Occupation of Britain project, aimed at reconstructing the first detailed history of how and when Britain was occupied by early humans. His previous books include African Exodus: The Origins of Modern Humanity, The Complete World of Human Evolution and most recently, Homo Britannicus, which was shortlisted for the Royal Society Science Book of the Year in 2007.Trade ReviewTo follow the dramatic announcements that will be appearing in the media pretty regularly from now on concerning new fossil finds and detailed genetic knowledge on the mutations that distinguish us from Neanderthals, other hominins, and apes, you will need a primer to make sense of the story so far. Here is that book. -- Peter Forbes * The Guardian *The Origin of Our Species combines anecdote and speculation with crisp explanation of the latest science in the study of the first humans. -- John Hawks * New Scientist *When it comes to human evolution [Chris Stringer] is as close to the horse's mouth as it gets...The Origin of Our Species should be the one-stop source on the subject. Read it now -- Henry Gee * BBC Focus *Combining the thrill of a novel with a remarkable depth of perspective, the book offers a panorama of recent developments...Stringer's original ideas will open up avenues for those who deal with genes, fossils or artefacts. -- Jean-Jacques Hublin * Nature *The Origin of Our Species [is] the right book by the right author at the right time. It highlights just how many tantalising discoveries and analytical advances have enriched the field in recent years, and folds them into an appropriately comprehensive, generous and nuanced reflection. -- Marek Kohn * Literary Review *The Origin of Our Species starts as a clear, perceptive survey. It ends by introducing a new way of defining us and our place in history -- Mike Pitts * Sunday Times *Sets out to tackle the big questions about human origins...written in a personal, unpretentious style...a laudable summary of a vital subject -- Matt Grove * British Archaeology *The most up to date synthesis available -- Steven Mithen * London Review of Books *Stringer's writing style is lucid and all-embracing, pulling information and ideas together from all conceivable sources to support his central narrative ... stimulating, informative and entertaining. It deserves to be widely read -- Stephen K. Donovan * Geological Journal *

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Book SynopsisThese works were written against a background of war and racism. Freud sought the sources of conflict in the deepest memories of humankind, finding clear continuities between our ''primitive'' past and ''civilized'' modernity. In Totem and Taboo he explores institutions of tribal life, tracing analogies between the rites of hunter-gatherers and the obsessions of urban-dwellers, while Mourning and Melancholia sees a similarly self-destructive savagery underlying individual life in the modern age, which issues at times in self-harm and suicide. And Freud''s extraordinary letter to Einstein, Why War? - rejecting what he saw as the physicist''s naïve pacifism - sums up his unsparing view of history in a few profoundly pessimistic, yet grimly persuasive pages.

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Book Synopsis''One of the great books of our century . . . It speaks with a human voice'' Susan SontagTristes Tropiques begins with the line ''I hate travelling and explorers'', yet during his life Claude Lévi-Strauss travelled from wartime France to the Amazon basin and the dense upland jungles of Brazil, where he found ''human society reduced to its most basic expression''. His account of the people he encountered changed the field of anthropology, transforming Western notions of ''primitive'' man. Tristes Tropiques is a major work of art as well as of scholarship. It is a memoir of exquisite beauty and a masterpiece of travel writing: funny, discursive, movingly detailing personal and cultural loss, and brilliantly connecting disparate fields of thought. Few books have had as powerful and broad an impact.Trade ReviewA magical masterpiece -- Robert ArdreyOne of the great books of our century ... It speaks with a human voice -- Susan Sontag

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Book Synopsis''Subtle and self-reflexive. . . an excellent overview of the debates and issues that have shaped this hugely influential social science'' - GuardianHow does anthropology help us understand who we are?What can it tell us about culture, from Melanesia to the City of London? Why does it matter?For well over one hundred years, social and cultural anthropologists have traversed the world from urban Zimbabwe to suburban England, Beijing to Barcelona, uncovering surprising facts, patterns, predilections and, sometimes, the inexplicable, in terms of how humans organize their lives and articulate their values. By weaving together theories and examples from around the world, Matthew Engelke brilliantly shows why anthropology matters: not only because it allows us to understand other points of view, but also because in the process, it reveals something about ourselves too.Trade ReviewEngelke's subtle and self-reflexive study presents an excellent overview of the debates and issues that have shaped this hugely influential social science. . . Using an eclectic range of examples, including "bridewealth" in modern China and the role of social values in Downton Abbey, he shows how anthropology reveals both the limits of common sense and the universal lessons that can be drawn from communities everywhere -- PD Smith * Guardian *Think Like an Anthropologist sets forth the anthropological sensibility as a mode of thinking that might encourage us to better appreciate the complexity and diversity of the modern world -- Lamorna Ash * TLS *Informing -- and perhaps occasionally startling readers who aren't themselves anthropologists -- is a profoundly important goal. Engelke achieves his goal with crystal-clear writing, and occasional humor, too -- Barbara J. King * NPR *Brilliant, lively, short(ish) introduction into the key issues that shape anthropology. The ideal introduction for a general reader, a student - or the parent of a teenager who does not understand why their kid wants to study anthropology instead of accounting. (Don't worry; they can still find a job.) -- Gillian Tett * Guardian *An affable introduction to the discipline -- James Ryerson * New York Times Book Review *Clearly the work of an author having tremendous fun with material he knows inside out . . . Thinking like an anthropologist is something that we should all do more often -- Simon Underdown * Times Higher Education *We may not do research in faraway places or even nearby, among our curious neighbors, but we all need to be anthropologists. Thinking like an anthropologist means stopping to consider our common-sense categories in critical, comparative, and historically informed ways. Matthew Engelke's admirably lucid book gives us the tools we need -- James Clifford, author of Returns: Becoming Indigenous in the Twenty-First CenturyA terrific introduction to the field. Beautifully written, winningly told, and provocative, the book captures the basic feature of the discipline: that anthropology is a way of seeing and thinking. Anthropology invites you to see yourself as someone else might see you. In this way, it is the most world-changing of fields -- T. M. Luhrmann, author of When God Talks BackPlayful and perceptive, Matthew Engelke welcomes readers into the fascinating history and profound insights of anthropology. This elegant synthesis shows how the discipline can change the way we think about the world -- Caitlin Zaloom, author of Out of the Pits

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Book SynopsisIn twenty short books, Penguin brings you the classics of the environmental movement.This is Jared Diamond''s haunting account of visiting the mysterious stone statues of Easter Island, showing how a remote civilization destroyed itself by exploiting its own natural resources - and why we must heed this warning.Over the past 75 years, a new canon has emerged. As life on Earth has become irrevocably altered by humans, visionary thinkers around the world have raised their voices to defend the planet, and affirm our place at the heart of its restoration. Their words have endured through the decades, becoming the classics of a movement. Together, these books show the richness of environmental thought, and point the way to a fairer, saner, greener world.

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Book SynopsisHistories you can trust.Imagine the planet, as if from an immense distance of time and space, as a galactic observer might see itwith the kind of objectivity that we, who are enmeshed in our history, cant attain.The Oxford History of the World encompasses the whole span of human history. It brings together some of the world''s leading historians, under the expert guidance of Felipe Fernandez-Armesto, to tell the 200,000-year story of our world, from the emergence of homo sapiens through to the twenty-first century: the environmental convulsions; the interplay of ideas (good and bad); the cultural phases and exchanges; the collisions and collaborations in politics; the successions of states and empires; the unlocking of energy; the evolutions of economies; the contacts, conflicts, and contagions that have all contributed to making the world we now inhabit.Trade ReviewWhen a renowned academic publisher such as Oxford University Press gathers well-known (mainly British and American) historians to write a history of the whole world, one can expect a cross between the highest condition, light and metaphorical language and opulent visualization - and this is exactly what this volume delivers. * Matthias Middell, Comparativ *To say that The Oxford History Of The World is a monumental undertaking is something of an understatement. In just over 400 pages some of the world's most noted historians come together to tell the story of human history, from its first breath to the modern age ... The result is a triumph ... As accessible as it is well-researched, it really is a joy to read and will satisfy anyone who wants to delve deeper into the history of the world. * All About History *Extraordinary ... [A] beautiful book, with accessible essays of such originality * Richard Drayton, Times Literary Supplement *Some books are admirable because of their sheer scope and ambition, and this overview of the entirety of the human story fits firmly within that category. * History Revealed *A handy compendium of some of the major moments and periods of transformation in human history, set in a global context. * Lucia Marchini, Minerva *Condensing the story of humanity's 200,000 year tenure on Earth into 450 pages could be an act of hubris or the result of orderly - yet imaginative - minds making connections across centuries and continents. The Oxford History of the World is more the latter... a pleasure to read with many thought-provoking passages. * David Luhrssen, Shepherd Express *Are you intellectually curious, but very busy? Would you have liked to understand the biggest questions about the history of the last 200,000 years, but you don't have the time required to read 97 different fat books to tell you the answers? Are you looking for just one book that will summarize it all? Then this is your book! It's exciting, up-to-date, and well-written. You'll love it! * Jared Diamond, Professor of Geography at UCLA and Pulitzer-Prize-winning author of Guns, Germs, and Steel and The World Until Yesterday *Felipe Fernández-Armesto and his gifted team have produced the world history for our times, ecologically oriented, written from multiple standpoints and informed by systematic comparison. * Peter Burke, Professor Emeritus of Cultural History, University of Cambridge *A truly remarkable book. * Richard Lofthouse, Quad Magazine *Brilliant and provocative * Art Eyewitness *Table of ContentsPart I: Children of the Ice 1: Clive Gamble: Humanity From the Ice: The Emergence and Spread of an Adaptive Species 2: Felipe Fernández-Armesto: The Mind in the Ice: Art and Thought before Agriculture Part II: Of Mud and Metal 3: Martin Jones: Into a Warming World 4: Felipe Fernández-Armesto: The Farmers' Empires: Climax and Crises in Agrarian States and Cities Part III: The Oscillations of Empires 5: John Brooke: Material Life: Bronze Age Crisis to the Black Death 6: David Northrup: Intellectual Traditions: Philosophy, Science, Religion, and the Arts, 500 BCE - 1350 CE 7: Ian Morris: Growth: Social and Political Organizations, 1000 BC-AD 1350 Part IV: The Climatic Reversal 8: David Northrup: A Converging World: Economic and Ecological Encounters, 1350-1815 9: Manuel Lucena-Giraldo: Renaissances, Reformations, and Mental Revolutions: Intellect and Arts in the Early Modern World 10: Anjana Singh: Connected by Emotions and Experiences: Monarchs, Merchants, Mercenaries, and Migrants in the Early Modern World Part V: The Great Acceleration 11: David Christian: The Anthropocene Epoch: The Background to Two Transformative Centuries 12: Paolo Luca Bernardini: The Modern World and Its Demons: Ideology and After in Arts, Letters and Thought, 1815-2008 13: Jeremy Black: Politics and Society in the Kaleidoscope of Change: Relationships, Institutions, and Conflicts from the Beginnings of Western Hegemony to the American Supremacy

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Book SynopsisThis two-volume collection transforms our understanding of the discipline of ethnomusicology by exploring how ethnomusicologists can contribute to positive social and environmental change within institutional frameworks. The second volume focuses on the intersection of ecological and social issues and features a variety of Indigenous perspectivesTrade ReviewA highly original and unusually rewarding read. If anyone wondered what twenty-first century ethnomusicology could become, Transforming Ethnomusicology provides creative ideas and inspiration. Bursting with fresh insights, it speaks to issues of major concern and defines the field. * Lee Tong Soon, Lehigh University, general editor of the Yearbook for Traditional Music *A testament to the labor of activism, advocacy, and community involvement, Transforming Ethnomusicology lays the groundwork for contemporary practices in applied research that frame the multidimensional roles of scholarly involvement in music-driven social justice — a timely contribution to the field. * Adriana Helbig, Associate Professor of Music, University of Pittsburgh *Table of ContentsEthnomusicological Praxis: An Introduction Beverley Diamond and Salwa El-Shawan Castelo-Branco Chapter 1: A Sound Economy Jeff Todd Titon Chapter 2: Music for Global Human Development Michael Frishkopf Chapter 3: Reengaging Sound Praxis in the Real World: Politico-Epistemological Dimensions of Dialogue and Participation in Knowledge Production Samuel Araujo Chapter 4: Silenced Registers of Ethnomusicological Academic Labor under Neoliberalism Ana Hofman Chapter 5: Sonic Mapping and Critical Citizenship: Reflections on LimerickSoundscapes Aileen Dillane and Tony Langlois Chapter 6: The Earth Is (Still) Our Mother: Traversing Indigenous Landscapes through Sacred Geographies of Song Chad Hamill Chapter 7: The Modernity of the Songlines Rhoda Roberts Chapter 8: Music Endangerment, Repatriation and Intercultural Collaboration in an Australian Discomfort Zone Sally Treloyn and Rona Goonginda Charles Chapter 9: Dancing Domba: Intersections of Ethnomusicology, Music Education, and Research with Children and Young People Andrea Emberly and Mudzunga Junniah Davhula Chapter 10: Ethical Friction: IRBs, Ethnolmusicological Ethics, and Music in an American Jail Andy McGraw Chapter 11: Ethnomusicology and the Meeting of Knowledges in Music: The Inclusion of Masters of Traditional Musics as Lecturers in Higher Education Institutions José Jorge de Carvalho

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Book SynopsisCoinage - it is one of the most successful and consistent technologies ever invented. Nothing else we still use in everyday life has a history quite like it. Look around at all the things that would bewilder a Greek, Roman, or Renaissance ancestor; then, dig into your purse or pocket for that one artifact that they would immediately recognize as part of their world. Historian Frank L. Holt takes us on a lively journey through the history of numismatics, the study of coins - one of the oldest and most important contributions to the arts and humanities. For 2600 years, poets, economists, philosophers, historians, and theologians have pondered the mysteries of money. Who invented coins, and why? Does coinage function beyond our control as if it had a mind of its own? How has it changed world history and culture? What does numismatics reveal about our past that could never be discovered from any other source? How has numismatics advanced using modern science? Does it still suffer from racist ideas about physiognomy and phrenology? What does its future hold? The approach taken in this richly illustrated book is as multi-faceted as coined money itself. Coins are integral to our economic, social, political, religious, and cultural history. When Money Talks: The History of Coins explores each aspect of coinage, and takes a special interest in how coins have appeared in literature and pop culture, ranging in its analysis from Greek drama and the New Testament to T.V. sitcoms and meme theory.Trade ReviewLikeable.... It also conveys something very important: holding a coin that someone else held two thousand years ago creates a special feeling of connectedness. * London Review of Books *The author's enthusiasm for both coins and history of numismatics renders this slim volume positively unputdownable. * Ivana Petrovic, Greece and Rome *An excellent read and provides valuable insights into coins, the people who minted them, and now the people who study them. * Journal of the Oriental Numismatic Society *When Money Talks should be required reading for economists, historians, archaeologists, classicists, sociologists, and contemporary scholars, each of whose fields, among others, can benefit from better understanding money and its use. * David Hendin, American Numismatic, Bryn Mawr Classical Review *Holt's tour de force is his anecdotal history of coins and money.... Holt advocates for a multi-disciplinary field called "cognitive numismatics"...that the subtleties of history, economics, and other fields can gain a lot from the study of material artifacts such as the coins they used. * David Hendin, Bryn Mawr Classical Review *When a perfect author connects with his perfect subject, a book like When Money Talks is born. I found something I wanted to learn (or be reminded of) on almost every page. Holt is a specialist who has written a needed book for generalists. Using popular and academic themes, he explains numismatics in a broader context than it is usually understood.... When Money Talks should be required reading for economists, historians, archaeologists, classicists, sociologists, and contemporary scholars, each of whose fields, among others, can benefit from better understanding money and its use. * David Hendin, Bryn Mawr Classical Review *There really is no other book like this. Holt explores the origins of money in the form of coinage and the history of the discipline that studies it (numismatics) in a highly readable and entertaining fashion. His ability to simplify difficult concepts and find the perfect analogy is remarkable, as is the breadth of his knowledge of money from the ancient world to the world of today. * Peter van Alfen, American Numismatic Society *A holistic and creative introduction to an often-underappreciated subject -- readily accessible to those with no prior knowledge of numismatics, but equally a thought-provoking must-read for specialists. * Liv Mariah Yarrow, CUNY *Frank Holt's books are always interesting and usually groundbreaking... His books approach their given subjects with both wit and wisdom. Holt also has a way with words whose flow carries the general reader along with little effort. This book is no exception. It is surely the distillation of decades' worth of study of, and fascination with, ancient coins - witness the book's 30 pages of endnotes and 16 pages of select bibliography- but Holt always wears his learning lightly... When Money Talks is both accessible to anyone without any prior knowledge of numismatics and engrossing for experts in the field... Not only is the focus on the historical dimension of coins made clear, but so is the personal take on what will follow. Holt takes us by the hand for a tour that is intimate but no less scholarly for that. * Mouseion *Table of Contents1. INTRODUCTION 2. FROM THE COIN'S POINT OF VIEW 3. THE INVENTION OF COINS 4. THE FIRST NUMISMATISTS 5. THE SECOND WAVE 6. SCIENCE AND PSEUDOSCIENCE 7. FINDING HOARDS 8. UNDERSTANDING HOARDS 9. THE ETHOS AND ETHICS OF COLLECTING 10. THE JOURNEY CONTINUES

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Book SynopsisA powerful and critical investigation of iron deficiency in women throughout evolutionary history and in our current societyWomen of the world are beset by a hidden hunger: iron deficiency. Up to 40% of reproductive-aged women across the globe have iron deficiency anemia, and it contributes to 20% of maternal deaths. Despite these dire statistics, women are not routinely screened for iron deficiency. Iron deficiency has been used as a tool to control, categorize, and even ignore women and their suffering. Biomedical remedies - mostly iron supplementation - are unequally and indifferently applied to global populations of women. Thicker Than Water explores the reasons women are especially vulnerable, using evolutionary theory and social theory to understand the causes and consequences of iron deficiency in women. Contrary to popular belief, homeostasis protects the iron stores of women from iron loss during menstruation. Women''s iron metabolism has evolved to balance the benefits and da

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Book SynopsisEvidence that Neanderthals caught birds and used their feathers for decoration, along with recent discoveries of Neanderthal cave art, are challenging our preconceptions of the cognitive gap between Neanderthals and modern humans. Clive Finlayson draws on new evidence to overturn the old image of the Neanderthal, and our relationship with them.Trade ReviewIn this short, engaging book, Finlayson recounts his personal journey to find out about Neanderthals. In doing so, he effectively rattles the bars of the protective cage around our species uniqueness. * Clive Gamble, Archäologische Informationen *This is an anecdotal and quirky book, an act of storytelling in effect, but nonetheless persuasive for that ... The Smart Neanderthal is a touching, slightly eccentric contribution to an evolving story, finding, as all do in this field, tremendous significance in still scant evidence - but it is wonderfully suggestive and engaging. * David Sexton, Evening Standard *The Smart Neanderthal offers both a fascinating exploration of the latest Neanderthal discoveries and a superb study of the evolution of Neanderthals as cultural icons ... highly recommended to readers interested in evolutionary theory, human prehistory, and the complex afterlives of bones. * Lydia Pyne, Los Angeles Review of Books *The Best Science Books to Read For Summer 2019: From Gibraltar's swelter to a frigid Norwegian fjord, the evolutionary biologist takes readers on an adventure in unexpected revelations about this lost lineage of humans. * Gemma Tarlach, Discover Magazine *No one has done more for Neanderthal public relations than evolutionary archaeologist Clive Finlayson... I found The Smart Neandethal fascinating. * David Miles, Minerva *Well-written and accessible. * Antiquity *Table of ContentsPreface 1: Nana and flint 2: Neanderthals and birds 3: Lessons from the Arctic 4: The long-tailed duck 5: The white ghost 6: Gibraltar 7: The dynamic world of dunes 8: Lakes and plains 9: The great auk 10: Big eyes 11: Digging in the cave 12: Neanderthal real estate 13: Of seals and limpets 14: Birds of a feather 15: The golden eagle 16: Ambushing the scavengers 17: The big six 18: How to skin a vulture 19: Pigeons and choughs 20: Feeding the vultures 21: The hashtag and the end of the long road to Neanderthal emancipation Appendix 1 Bird Names used in the Text Appendix 2 Mammal Names used in the Text Endnotes Further reading Index

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Book SynopsisFirst book to highlight the benefits of using palaeopathological research to answer questions about the evolution of disease and its application to current health problems, as well as the benefits of using evolutionary thinking in medicine to help interpret historical disease processes.Trade ReviewAn impressive volume focusing on the integration of paleopathology—the study of disease, health and the challenges to health in the past—and evolutionary medicine—the study of health in an evolutionary context. The book successfully integrates the two fields, giving both new strengths and revised aspirations in addressing common goals. It offers new opportunities for the development of a more informed understanding of health and well-being, including, but not limited to, aging, reproductive health, immune function, inflammation, microbiomes, and diet and nutrition. * Evolution, Medicine, & Public Health *Palaeopathology and Evolutionary Medicine: An Integrated Approach is an impressive collection of contributions by a range of scientists working to apply emerging insights about the ancient past with contemporary medical challenges. Ambitious in the breadth of subjects covered, it presents not only a much needed and up-to-date view of the field, it offers a contextualized understanding of why and how ancient pathologies can be used to better understand contemporary medical challenges. * Barbara Natterson-Horowitz MD, Harvard Medical School, UCLA Division of Cardiology, USA *There is much of value here for anyone interested in the intersection of paleopathology and evolutionary medicine. * Richard A.Richards, New Biological Books *Table of ContentsFrank Rühli: Foreword 1: Kimberly A. Plomp, Charlotte A. Roberts, Sarah Elton, and Gillian R. Bentley: What's it all about? A legacy for the next generation of scholars in evolutionary medicine and palaeopathology 2: Julia Gamble and Gillian Bentley: Developmental origins of health and disease (DOHaD): perspectives from bioarchaeology 3: Kimberly A. Plomp, Ella Been and Mark Collard: Acquired spinal conditions in humans: the roles of spinal curvature, the shape of the lumbar vertebrae, and evolutionary history 4: Sarah-Louise Decrausaz and Frances Galloway: Birthing humans in the past, the present and future: how birth can be approached holistically through an evolutionary medicine lens 5: Nicole Burt and Alexandra M. Greenwald: Isotopic reconstruction of ancient human diet and health: implications for evolutionary medicine 6: Tanya M. Smith and Christina Warinner: Developmental, evolutionary, and behavioural perspectives on oral health 7: Malcolm C. Lillie and Sarah Elton: Palaeoecology: considering proximate and ultimate influences in human diets and environmental responses in the early Holocene Dnieper River region of Ukraine 8: Kirsten Bos and Sharon N. DeWitte: Human resistance and the evolution of plague in Medieval Europe 9: Charlotte Roberts, David M. Scollard and Vinicius M. Fava: Leprosy Is down but not yet out: new insights shed light on its origin and evolution 10: Charlotte A. Roberts, Peter D.O. Davies, Kelly E. Blevins and Anne C. Stone: Preventable and curable, but still a global problem: tuberculosis from an evolutionary perspective 11: Marissa L. Ledger and Piers D. Mitchell: Evolutionary perspectives on human parasitic infection: ancient parasites to modern medicine. 12: Randall C. Thompson, Chris J. Rowan, Nicholas W. Weis, M. Linda Sutherland, Caleb E. Finch, Michaela Binder, Charlotte A. Roberts and Gregory S. Thomas: Cardiovascular disease in ancient people and contemporary implications 13: Carina Marques, Zachary Compton and Amy M. Boddy: Connecting palaeopathology and evolutionary medicine to cancer research: past and present 14: Daniel H. Temple and Ashley N. Edes: Stress in bioarchaeology, epidemiology, and evolutionary medicine: an integrated conceptual model of shared history from the descriptive to the developmental 15: Jonathan C. Wells, Nelissa Ling, Jay T. Stock, Hallie Buckley and William R. Leonard: Metabolic diseases in bioarchaeology: an evolutionary medicine approach 16: Ryan P. Harrod and Anna J. Osterholtz: The palaeopathology of traumatic injuries: an evolutionary medicine perspective 17: Elizabeth W. Uhl and Richard Thomas: Uncovering tales of transmission: an integrated palaeopathological perspective on the evolution of shared human and animal pathogens 18: Gillian Bentley, Charlotte A. Roberts, Sarah Elton and Kimberly A. Plomp: Now you have read the book, what next? Jane Buikstra: Afterword

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Book SynopsisIn this cross-cultural study of manhood as an achieved status, the author finds that a culturally sanctioned stress on manliness - on toughness and aggressiveness, stoicism and sexuality - is almost universal, and deeply ingrained in the consciousness of men who otherwise have little in common.Trade Review"The news in this anthropological study is not that so many societies in which the men formerly hunted, fished, performed manual labor and warred have developed rigid codes of masculinity, in which aggression toward other males and possessiveness toward women are rewarded. Rather, it is that there are societies—on Tahiti and in Malaysia, for two—in which men are encouraged to be passive, to allow women easy 'eroticism,’ to eschew sporting competitions because they produce bad feelings. All of which, the author observes, causes consternation among Freudians (not to mention apostles of machismo), who have an investment in believing that fear of castration has engendered universal male anxiety over masculinity as something to be earned and steadfastly maintained."—Washington Post Book World"A scholarly overview suggesting that ’manhood’ in the form of toughness, aggression and stoicism is nearly universal."—Phil McCombs, Washington Post"Colourful and fascinating stuff, painstakingly researched and feelingly described. . . . An absorbing, well-argued, and finely written study."—Nicola Shulman, Sunday Times"Gilmore's subtle and illuminating inversion of ordinary understandings—his insight that male sterness, toughness, acquisitiveness, and aggressiveness serve, in circumstances of threat and scarcity, the same social ends as female tenderness and gentleness—has been suggested elsewhere, but never stated so completely nor in so unmistakably masculine a voice. . . . A signal service."—Beryl Lieff Benderly, New York Times Book Review"This is a superb and necessary text for clinicians and theorists interested in the psychological world of the male. . . . By reviewing the manner in which maleness is manifested around the world, [Gilmore] concludes that the vast majority of cultures perpetuate a male role with three main functions—to impregnate, provide, and protect. . . . With the rapid growth of a new male psychology, this book is essential reading for all psychiatrists and psychotherapists who work with men of any age."—Richard Martinez, Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease"Very fascinating and significant, because it gives us a holistic image of what in means to be a man."—Maeda Toshiko, Asian Folklore Studies"Provocative and absorbing, this book is essential to both academic and general libraries."—Library Journal"A provocative, rewarding cross-cultural survey."—Publishers Weekly"The great virtue of this textbook is to demonstrate clearly that there is nothing natural or inevitable about gender polarity."—Robert Brain, Times Literary Supplement"While many of the recent discussions of men and masculinity have arisen out of the more-or-less direct challenges laid down by feminism, Gilmore’s book would seem to arise much more out of his anthropological fieldwork experiences in Andalusia. It is here that he begins his wide-ranging comparative study of the problems of being a proper man in a variety of different societies. . . . This lively and well-written book will prove to be an excellent source-book and overall survey which may help to overcome some of the ethnocentrism that limits many recent discussions of men and masculinities."—David H. J. Morgan, Journal of Gender Studies"A well-written, accessible, provocative study that raises a wide range of challenging issues and covers a rich variety of ethnographic cases."—Michael Herzfeld, Indiana University

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Book SynopsisWhen the Bolsheviks seized power in 1917, they set themselves the task of building socialism in the vast landscape of the former Russian Empire, a territory populated by hundreds of different peoples belonging to a multitude of linguistic, religious, and ethnic groups. Before 1917, the Bolsheviks had called for the national self-determination of all peoples and had condemned all forms of colonization as exploitative. After attaining power, however, they began to express concern that it would not be possible for Soviet Russia to survive without the cotton of Turkestan and the oil of the Caucasus. In an effort to reconcile their anti-imperialist position with their desire to hold on to as much territory as possible, the Bolsheviks integrated the national idea into the administrative-territorial structure of the new Soviet state. In Empire of Nations, Francine Hirsch examines the ways in which former imperial ethnographers and local elites provided the Bolsheviks with ethnographTrade ReviewHirsch does not simply... posit another ideological or epistemological model of Soviet history. She instead provides a completely new kind of analysis. Her book is more than an innovative study of high quality; it stakes out a position that cannot fail to have a long-standing impact on the historiography of the Soviet state. -- Marina Mogil'ner * Ab Imperio *Referring to the Soviet Union as an 'empire of nations,' Hirsch demonstrates through prodigious research how ethnographers from the former tsarist regime collaborated with the Leninists to shape the new state. Hers is the tale of a modernizing, self-styled scientific state that imposed categories, names, and programs on ethnic populations with relatively little say in their own fate.... Empire of Nations is an exceptionally rich book and a significant addition to the growing literature on the construction of the Soviet state. Beautifully written and clearly presented even when the story hovers on complicated administrative matters, Hirsch's account of the Soviet Union as a 'work in progress' that neither began with a blueprint nor achieved completion reaffirms the now widely accepted view of nation-formation as a process of human intervention and invention. -- Ronald Grigor Suny * The Moscow Times *This innovative and important book reinterprets the formation of the Soviet Union in the years after the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution. Instead of focusing on the views of the Soviet leadership and the events surrounding the official formation of the Soviet Union in 1922, Hirsch takes a broader perspective on the processes involved with establishing a nationalities policy in the Soviet Union from the prerevolutionary background through the 1930s by looking at the activities of experts and local elites, among others. Highly recommended. * Choice *Table of ContentsIntroductionPart One. Empire, Nation, and the Scientific State1. Toward a Revolutionary Alliance2. The National Idea versus Economic ExpediencyPart Two. Cultural Technologies of Rule and the Nature of Soviet Power3. The 1926 Census and the Conceptual Conquest of Lands and Peoples4. Border-Making and the Formation of Soviet National Identities5. Transforming "The Peoples of the USSR": Ethnographic Exhibits and the Evolutionary TimelinePart Three. The Nazi Threat and the Acceleration of the Bolshevik Revolution6. State-Sponsored Evolutionism and the Struggle against German Biological Determinism7. Ethnographic Knowledge and TerrorEpilogueAppendixes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisOur globalised world is encountering problems on an unprecedented scale. Many of the issues we face as societies extend beyond the borders of our nations. Phenomena such as terrorism, climate change, immigration, cybercrime and poverty can no longer be understood without considering the complex socio-technical systems that support our way of living. It is widely acknowledged that to contend with any of the pressing issues of our time, we have to substantially adapt our lifestyles. To adequately counteract the problems of our time, we need interventions that help us actually adopt the behaviours that lead us toward a more sustainable and ethically just future. In Designing for Society, Nynke Tromp and Paul Hekkert provide a hands-on tool for design professionals and students who wish to use design to counteract social issues. Viewing the artefact as a unique means of facilitating behavioural change to realise social impact, this book goes beyond the current trend of applying desiTrade ReviewOffering a significant analysis of the social implications of design and the range of products and services that stimulate human behavior, this is a valuable addition to the literature on design of all varieties. * CHOICE *Everything that’s designed has effects on society, and how we live, and designers have a responsibility to understand this, and design with attention to the impacts their work can have, now and for future generations. In Designing for Society, Nynke Tromp and Paul Hekkert give us a thoughtful and well-informed set of ways of approaching this complex and wide-ranging subject, demonstrating the power of designing products, services, and systems with a focus on social value. * Dan Lockton, Chair of Design Studies at Carnegie Mellon University, USA *To the large numbers of students and professionals who want to ‘do good’ and to make a difference in the world, this book offers a wealth of insights and guidelines. The 'society-centred design practice' outlined by the authors is both theoretically exciting and useful in practice. * Erik Stolterman Bergqvist, Professor of Informatics at Indiana University, Bloomington, USA *Table of ContentsPreface Foreword Introduction 1. Building a Viable Society 2. Effect-driven Design 3. A Clash of Concerns 4. The Far-reaching Influence of the Artefact 5. An Imperfect World 6. Social Implication Design 7. Mapping the Social Context 8. Assessing Impact 9. Social Design in Practice References Index

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Book SynopsisWINNER OF THE CWA GOLD DAGGER FOR NON-FICTION'Gripping from the start, Written in Bone is superb' - Dr Richard Shepherd, author of Unnatural Causes'No Scientist communicates better than Sue Black' - Val McDermid, author of Still Life'Macabre, authoritative and fascinating.' - The Sunday TimesOur bones are the silent witnesses to the lives we lead. Our stories are marbled into their marrow.Drawing upon her years of research and a wealth of remarkable experience, the world-renowned forensic anthropologist Professor Dame Sue Black takes us on a journey of revelation. From skull to feet, via the face, spine, chest, arms, hands, pelvis and legs, she shows that each part of us has a tale to tell. What we eat, where we go, everything we do leaves a trace, a message that waits patiently for months, years, sometimes centuries, until a forensic anthropologist is called upon to decipher it.Some of this information is easily understood, some holds its secrets tight and needs scientific cajoling to be released. But by carefully piecing together the evidence, the facts of a life can be rebuilt.Limb by limb, case by case - some criminal, some historical, some unaccountably bizarre - Sue Black reconstructs with intimate sensitivity and compassion the hidden stories in what we leave behind.Praise for Sue Black:'Sue Black has a rare ability to make blood and bones come alive. A marvellous writer. Ruth Davidson, SMP'The corpse whisperer ... Is it okay for Black, or us, to enjoy this quite so much?''Fascinating' - Spectator'Gripping' - Guardian'Moving' - Scotsman'Engrossing' - Financial Times

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Book Synopsis'A work of remarkable scope' - GuardianFT Best science books of 2018Primate Change has been adapted into a radio series for the BBC WORLD SERVICE.*This is the road from climate change to primate change.PRIMATE CHANGE is a wide-ranging, polemical look at how and why the human body has changed since humankind first got up on two feet. Spanning the entirety of human history - from primate to transhuman - Vybarr Cregan-Reid's book investigates where we came from, who we are today and how modern technology will change us beyond recognition.In the last two hundred years, humans have made such a tremendous impact on the world that our geological epoch is about to be declared the 'Anthropocene', or the Age of Man. But while we have been busy changing the shape of the world we inhabit, the ways of living that we have been building have, as if under the cover of darkness, been transforming our bodies and altering the expression of our DNA, too.Primate Change beautifully unscrambles the complex architecture of our modern human bodies, built over millions of years and only starting to give up on us now.'Our bodies are in a shock. Modern living is as bracing to the human body as jumping through a hole in the ice. Our bodies do not know what century they were born into and they are defending and deforming themselves in response.'Trade ReviewNature and nurture commingle to fascinating effect. - NatureA work of remarkable scope. - GuardianAbsorbing. - Telegraph IndiaAn excellent evaluation of our bodily shortcomings. - Financial Times

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Book SynopsisFull of wonder and forensic intelligence' Isabella Tree, author of WildingA moving account of Madagascar told by a researcher who has spent over fifty years investigating the mysteries of this remarkable island.Madagascar is a place of change. A biodiversity hotspot and the fourth largest island on the planet, it has been home to a spectacular parade of animals, from giant flightless birds and giant tortoises on the ground, to agile lemurs leaping through the treetops. Some species live on; many have vanished in the distant or recent past. Over vast stretches of time, Madagascar's forests have expanded and contracted in response to shifting climates, and the hand of people is clear in changes during the last thousand years or so. Today, Madagascar is a microcosm of global trends. What happens there in the decades ahead can, perhaps, suggest ways to help turn the tide on the environmental crisis now sweeping the world.The Sloth Lemur's Song is a far-reaching account of Madagascar's pastTrade Review‘Full of wonder and forensic intelligence, The Sloth Lemur’s Song is a love song to the astonishing evolution of Madagascar. It is a fascinating journey from the island’s origins to the complex tensions of the present day, with Alison Richard the most considerate and engaging of guides.’ Isabella Tree, author of Wilding ‘This book is an encyclopedia of wonders, but it’s also a riveting story of evolution through time in a land utterly unique. Madagascar is arguably the most amazing place on Earth. Richard knows it as few outsiders ever will, and its praises have never been better sung.’ David Quammen, author of Spillover ‘Truly mind-blowingly epic … For every adventure you need a perceptive, intelligent and compassionate guide. Ours is author Alison Richard whose life's work has been Madagascar … a tale of enchanting and endangered biodiversity’ Resurgence and Ecologist ‘[A] Masterpiece … Revelatory’ Madagascar Conservation & Development ‘Brilliant … This is simply a wonderful book. Richard tells Madagascar’s often improbable history with vivid detail and personal story based on her research, all backed up with the latest scientific thinking … You will enjoy the stories so much you may not notice that your world is expanding.’ Cool Green Science blog ‘A love story; an ode to Madagascar. Throughout, the author interweaves first-person accounts of her extensive experience as a field biologist, detailed and accurate accounts of the natural history of the island, up-to-the-minute summaries of the latest scientific studies spanning everything from botany to geology to climatology, with the binding ‘through line’ of the Malagasy people and their relationship to the landscape.’ Anne Yoder, Duke University

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Book SynopsisFollowing his profoundly influential study, Orientalism, Edward Said now examines western culture. From Jane Austen to Salman Rushdie, from Yeats to media coverage of the Gulf War, Culture and Imperialism is a broad, fierce and wonderfully readable account of the roots of imperialism in European culture.Trade ReviewCulture and Imperialism has an eloquent, urgent topicality rare in books by literary critics -- Camille PagliaReaders accustomed to the precision and elegance of Edward Said's analytical prowess will not be disappointed by Culture and Imperialism. Those discovering Said for the first time will be profoundly impressed -- Toni MorrisonEdward Said helps us to understand who we are and what we must do if we are to aspire to be moral agents, not servants of power -- Noam Chomsky

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Book SynopsisThe Continuum Concept introduces the idea that in order to achieve optimal physical, mental and emotional development, human beings - especially babies - require the kind of instinctive nurturing as practiced by our ancient relatives. It is a true back to basics' approach to parenting. Author Jean Liedloff spent two and-a-half years in the jungle deep in the heart of South America living with indigenous tribes and was astounded at how differently children are raised outside the Western world. She came to the realisation that essential child-rearing techniques such as touch, trust and community have been undermined in modern times, and in this book suggests practical ways to regain our natural well-being, for our children and ourselves.Table of ContentsHow my ideas were so radically changed; the continuum concept; the beginning of life; growing up; deprivation of essential experiences; society; putting continuum principles back to work.

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Book SynopsisAn ecological and anthropological study of eating offers insight into food consumption in the twenty-first century, explaining how an abundance of unlimited food varieties reveals the responsibilities of everyday consumers to protect their health and the environment. By the author of The Botany of Desire. Reprint. 150,000 first printing.

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Book SynopsisAn evocative symbol of the 1960s was its youth counterculture. This study reveals that the youthful revolutionaries were augmented by such unlikely allies as the advertising industry and the men's clothing business. The ad industry celebrated irrepressible youth and promoted defiance and revolt.

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Book SynopsisA searing portrait of Palestinian life and identity that is at once an exploration of Edward Said's dislocated past and a testimony to the lives of those living in exile.Trade ReviewWhen Said shows us the Palestinian experience min al-dakhil, from the inside, he means not the inside of the place, but the inside of the mind. Palestine becomes a state of mind. And that is what makes the book so exceptional. It is an extended voyage through the mind of exile. The Nation The power and magic of [Said and Mohr's] collective statement lies in this--no matter how displaced or dispossessed, a decisive border separates the native and the tourist. Jerusalem Post A very personal text, and a very moving one, about an internal struggle: the anguish of living with displacement, with exile... The most beautiful piece of prose... about what it means to be a Palestinian. The Guardian

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Book Synopsis"Palestine, 1948, and the Claims of Memory" uses blurbs.Trade ReviewNakba provides crucial insights into the Palestinian-Israeli situation yesterday, today, and, perhaps, tomorrow. This is a voice which needs to be heard by everyone interested in resolving this conflict. -- Ahdaf Soueif, author of The Map of Love This is a voice which needs to be heard by everyone interested in resolving this conflict. Palestine News Agency Essential reading... Al Awda California Essential for anyone interested in testimony and history. -- Gershom Gorenberg BookForum [A] moving collection of writings on the expulsion of the Palestinian people from their homeland in 1948... Highly recommended. CHOICE The editors... have compiled a collection of impressive contributions that weave together the rich and changing tapestry of Palestinian memories. -- Randa Farah H-Levant Persuasive, and passionate... [Nakba] provides a welcome addition to the literature. -- Tareq Y. Ismael Biography Insightful, provocative, and thought-provoking contribution. Current AnthropologyTable of ContentsList of Illustrations Acknowledgments Note on Transliterations Introduction: The Claims of Memory, by Lila Abu-Lughod and Ahmad H. Sa'di Part I. Places of Memory 1. The Rape of Qula, a Destroyed Palestinian Village, by Susan Slyomovics 2. Mapping the Past, Re-creating the Homeland: Memories of Village Places in pre-1948 Palestine, by Rochelle Davis 3. Return to Half-Ruins: Memory, Postmemory, and Living History in Palestine, by Lila Abu-Lughod Part II. Modes of Memory 4. Iterability, Cumulativity, and Presence: The Relations Figures of Palestinian Memory, by Lena Jayyusi 5. Women's Nakba Stories: Between Being and Knowing, by Rosemary Sayigh 6. The Continuity of Trauma and Struggle: Recent Cinematic Representations of the Nakba, by Haim Bresheeth Part III. Faultlines of Memory 7. The Secret Visitations of Memory, by Omar Al-Qattan 8. Gender of Nakba Memory, by Isabelle Humphries and Laleh Khalili 9. Memories of Conquest: Witnessing Death in Tantura, by Samera Esmeri 10. The Politics of Witness: Remembering and Forgetting 1948 in Shatila Camp, by Diana K. Allan Afterword. Reflections on Representations, History, and Moral Accountability, by Ahmad H. Sa'di Bibliography Contributors Index

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Book SynopsisThis book investigates attention from a range of disciplinary perspectives, including philosophy, history, anthropology, art history, and comparative literature.Trade ReviewThis book brings together beautifully written and diverse perspectives on attention: as phenomenon, scholarly practice, memoir, meditation, metahistory, and art. Required reading in an era of exponential financialization and attention deficit disorder at civilizational scale. -- Blaise Agüera y Arcas, Google ResearchThese vivid and varied essays are a much-needed antidote to the flattened attention of the click economy. Here are the many dimensions of attention we've been missing: historical, philosophical, psychological, anthropological, and, yes, technological. This timely collection broadens and deepens current debates about the future of attention—and distraction. -- Lorraine Daston, author of Rules: A Short History of What We Live ByScenes of Attention is, in all the best ways, scholarly, inspiring, and unsettling. Its diverse contributors address this most urgent of topics so wisely, and articulate the results of their thinking with such readable lucidity, that one feels as if the complexities of attention had been brought freshly before us, in higher definition than before, and with a depth that had previously been foreshortened. -- Christopher Mole, author of Attention Is Cognitive Unison: An Essay in Philosophical PsychologyA wonderfully eclectic examination of attention, Scenes of Attention illuminates this central aspect of mind through different vignettes and rich theoretical perspectives that reveal the diversity of how we attend, how attention is shaped, manipulated and transformed. Accessible and engaging, it will provide ample material for productive reflection. -- Wayne Wu, author of Movements of the Mind: A Theory of Attention, Intention and ActionA very stimulating volume, Scenes of Attention revolves around the question of how best to approach, understand, and respond to the 'crisis of attention' that we all feel, to varying degrees, in the age of hypermediated multitaskery. These essays provide an interdisciplinary inquiry into the most pressing (and enduring) issues around the attention ecology. -- Dominic Pettman, author of Infinite DistractionTable of ContentsIntroduction, by D. Graham Burnett and Justin E. H. SmithPart I. Histories of Attention1. The Discovery of Attention, by Richard J. Spiegel2. Attention and Boredom in Early American Psychology, by Henry M. Cowles3. Attending to the Birds: Ornithologists and Listening, by Alexandra Hui4. Attention, Art, and Psychotherapeutics, by Julian ChehirianPart II. Philosophies of Attention5. Attention: Mechanism and Virtue, by Carlos Montemayor6. Attention, Technology, and Creativity, by Carolyn Dicey Jennings and Shadab Tabatabaeian7. Attention to Absence and Imagination, by Jonardon Ganeri8. Dispatch from the Jhāna Wars: Attention Practice in Online Buddhism, by John TreschPart III. Attention, Technology, Culture9. Wearable Attention: Course-Correction for Wandering Minds, by Natasha Dow Schüll10. Attentional ‘Ownership’: Online Education and Self-Possession, by Brian Yuan11. Attention is All You Need: Humans and Computers in the Time of Neural NetworksNick Seaver12. Medium Focus, by Joanna FiducciaPart IV. Endgame(s)13. Attention Fast, Attention Slow: Obsession, Compulsion, Holding Close, by Yael Geller14. Units of Intensive Care: Poetic Attention and the Precarious Body, by Lucy Alford BibliographyList of ContributorsIndex

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Book SynopsisMudimbe addresses the multiple scholarly discourses that exist-African and non-African-concerning the meaning of Africa and being African.

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Book SynopsisTrade Review“A work of impressive scholarship that ranges across a vast territory, both in theory and in the case studies.” —Dan Lawrence, Antiquity“A vital contribution to understanding the deep roots of our present environmental and climatic crisis”—Julian Thomas, Journal of Royal Anthropological InstituteSelected for Choice's 2019 Outstanding Academic Titles List "In this important book, Ian Hodder demonstrates why things matter, not because they represent something, but because the entangled interdependence of all things gives rise to the forward direction of history."—John C. Barrett, Professor Emeritus, University of Sheffield"Ian Hodder offers a new evolutionary model that gives real prominence to the human entanglement with things, in a brilliantly lucid account of the long paths along which humans and things lead each other."—Carl Knappett, Department of Art, University of Toronto“Running counter to studies giving human agency the big share in our embeddedness with things, Hodder’s sparkling essay advances the legacy of systems of things as entrapping human evolution.”—Pierre Lemonnier, author of Mundane Objects. Materiality and Non-verbal Communication “Ian Hodder frames a new archaeological perspective on the grand narrative of human evolution. Where Are We Heading? provides the first compelling explanation of directionality in cultural change.”—Dorian Fuller, University College London

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Book SynopsisImportant writings by the leading theorist of anarchism, including the brief but moving Spirit of Revolt, Law and Authority, an argument for social control through custom and education, and other documents. An invaluable addition to the libraries of instructors, students, and anyone interested in history, government, and anarchist thought.

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Book SynopsisPresenting an ethnographic study about Morocco, this title describes a series of encounters with the author's informants in that study, from a French innkeeper clinging to the vestiges of a colonial past, to the rural descendants of a seventeenth-century saint.Table of ContentsPreface to the Thirtieth Anniversary Edition Forward by Robert N. Bellah Introduction 1 Remnants of a Dying Colonialism 2 Packaged Goods 3 Ali: An Insider's Outsider 4 Entering 5 Respectable Information 6 Transgression 7 Self-Consciousness 8 Friendship Conclusion Afterword by Pierre Bourdieu Selected Bibliography

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Book SynopsisA study of the world of modeling. Exploring an arena of cultural production, it shows how the right 'look' is discovered, developed, and packaged to become a prized commodity. It examines how models sell themselves, how agents promote them, and how clients decide to hire them.Trade Review"Mears gives voice to a group of women who are paid to be seen and not heard." Slate "Mears has produced a fascinating study." Boston Globe/The Find "Mears acknowledges that walking the runway can be a thrill unlike any other [but also] notes some of the industry's exploitative aspects." Stylelist "A nuanced, and deliciously complicated depiction of an industry." Tottenville Review "This book is sociology at its finest. Mears's rarified status as a model-researcher provides rich insight into the specific nuances of fashion." American Journal Of Sociology/AJS "Mears's book represents an original, highly readable contribution to the field." ChoiceTable of ContentsList of Illustrations Acknowledgments 1. Entry 2. Economics of the Catwalk 3. Becoming a Look 4. The Tastemakers 5. Size Zero High-End Ethnic 6. Runway to Gender 7. Exit Appendix: The Precarious Labor of Ethnography Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisAvoiding reductionistic solutions, and without losing sight of how our lives and those of others are caught up in the moral webs we humans spin, this book skillfully fashions new kinds of conceptual tools from the strange and unexpected properties of the living world itself.Trade Review"What's so welcome about Kohn's approach is that he walks a tightrope with perfect balance: never losing sight of the unique aspects of being human, while refusing to force those aspects into separating us from the rest of the abundantly thinking world." The Times Literary Supplement "How Forests Think" is an important book that provides a viable way for people educated in Western philosophy to approach indigenous animism without being credulous or inauthentic. It is refreshing to read a book of this intellectual caliber that takes Runa stories seriously and enters into dialogue with their claims using the tools of Western philosophy." AnthroposTable of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction: Runa Puma 1 The Open Whole 2 The Living Thought 3 Soul Blindness 4 Trans-Species Pidgins 5 Form's Effortless Efficacy 6 The Living Future (and the Imponderable Weight of the Dead) Epilogue: Beyond Notes Bibliography Index

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Book Synopsis“Engrossing … [An] expedition through the hidden and sometimes horrifying microbial domain.” —Wall Street Journal “Fascinating—and full of the kind of factoids you can't wait to share.” —Scientific American   Parasites can live only inside another animal and, as Kathleen McAuliffe reveals, these tiny organisms have many evolutionary motives for manipulating the behavior of their hosts. With astonishing precision, parasites can coax rats to approach cats, spiders to transform the patterns of their webs, and fish to draw the attention of birds that then swoop down to feast on them. We humans are hardly immune to their influence. Organisms we pick up from our own pets are strongly suspected of changing our personality traits and contributing to recklessness and impulsivity—even suicide. Germs that cause colds and the flu may alter our behavior even before symptoms become apparent.   Parasites influence our species on the cultural level, too. Drawing on a huge body of research, McAuliffe argues that our dread of contamination is an evolved defense against parasites. The horror and revulsion we are programmed to feel when we come in contact with people who appear diseased or dirty helped pave the way for civilization, but may also be the basis for major divisions in societies that persist to this day. This Is Your Brain on Parasites is both a journey into cutting-edge science and a revelatory examination of what it means to be human.  “If you’ve ever doubted the power of microbes to shape society and offer us a grander view of life, read on and find yourself duly impressed.” —Heather Havrilesky, Bookforum Trade Review"If you've ever doubted the power of microbes to shape society and offer us a grander view of life, read on and find yourself duly impressed."-BookForum “A fascinating account of an extraordinary suite of biological phenomena, only recently come to light and proving that given enough time and enough evolving species to work with, natural selection can accomplish almost anything.” -Edward O. Wilson, Professor Emeritus, Harvard University, author of Consilience. “This book has all the elements of a crime thriller: violence, blood, gore, race and sex. But here the criminals are parasites. McAuliffe tells a vivid and sometimes horrifying tale of the hijackers that control our brains and our behaviour. In company with the best science writers, she shows us that reality can be way more interesting than fiction.” -Valerie Curtis, Director of the Environmental Health Group of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and author of Don’t Look, Don’t Touch, Don’t Eat “Be prepared to throw away all your preconceptions about the order of life. Humorous, inspiring and macabre—this is infectious reading in the tradition of giants like Robert S. Desowitz and Jared Diamond.” -Michael A Huffman, associate professor, Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University "From start to finish, [McAuliffe] spins a consistently engrossing tale of invasive creatures that can alter your behavior and outlook, depress your cognitive functioning, and even make you more violent or sexually aggressive." -- Heather Havrilesky, Book Forum —

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Book SynopsisDraws on research in archeology, anthropology, linguistics and on historiography. This book charts the development of Ethiopian peoples and their society, placing emphasis on the African origins of Ethiopian civilization.Trade Review"Clear, balanced and well informed, drawing on the latest sources to valuable effect, especially in references to archaeological work." Times Literary Supplement "Richard Pankhurst's contribution to The Peoples of Africa series will be a useful tool for students and general readers who are new to Ethiopian history." Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies "The Ethiopians makes an excellent introduction to the fascinating past of Ethiopia." Danny Yee's Book Reviews - For the full text of this review please visit: http://dannyreviews.com/h/Ethiopians.html "... excellent, based on current scholarship, factual and replete with the type of generalizations necessary for a good tertiary study." Journal of African HistoryTable of ContentsList of Plates. List of Maps. Series Editor's Preface. Table of Dates. Maps. 1. Prehistory and Geography. 2. Punt, Pharaohs and Ptolemies, the Aksumite Kingdom, and the Coming of Christianity. 3. The Zagwé Dynasty, Lalibala Churches, and Solomonic 'Restoration'. 4. Life in the Middle Ages, Contacts with Muslim Neighbours and Far-off Christians. 5. Ahmad ibn Ibrahim, Oromo Migration, and Ottoman Seizure of Massawa. 6. The Move of Capital North-West, and the Roman Catholic Interlude. 7. The Rise and Fall of Gondar. 8. The Early Nineteenth-Century, and the Advent of Téwodros II. 9. Yohannes, Menilek, and the European Powers. 10. Beginnings of Modernisation, Menilek, Iyasu, Zawditu, and Haile Sellassie. 11. Invasion, Occupation, and Liberation. 12. Restoration and Revolution. Bibliography. Index.

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Book SynopsisExplains how the human head works, and why our heads evolved in this peculiarly human way. This book documents how the many components of the head function, how they evolved since we diverged from the apes, and how they interact in diverse ways both functionally and developmentally, causing them to be highly integrated.Trade ReviewLieberman's integrated approach will make his book a forum for a way of thinking in human evolution that has not yet found its equal in print. -- Christopher Dean, University College LondonThis is an outstanding book. Lieberman draws from a wide variety of disciplines, including bone biology, embryology, morphometrics, functional anatomy, and paleontology to forge a masterful synthesis of the evolution of the human head. It will be the definitive reference for decades. * John G. Fleagle, Department of Anatomical Sciences, Stony Brook University *Lieberman offers acute descriptions of anatomy, embryology, physiology, and hominid fossils, while providing an exciting way to observe the relationships among structures, functions, and evolutionary variance. -- Scott Vieira * Library Journal *Lieberman dives deep into the cranium, showing just how much of what we consider to be human is connected to what happens above the neck. -- Carolyn Y. Johnson * Boston Globe *Daniel Lieberman has written a wonderful and inspiring book about the human head's evolution...One stands in awe at the work that has gone into it...This encyclopedic book is transformative...The morphological details in Lieberman's book make it a direct descendant of Gray's Anatomy...If a single word describes this book, it is integrative. The author integrates material from anatomy, physiology, physics, biomechanics, molecular and developmental biology, but brings all under the umbrella of evolutionary theory. -- Chris McManus * Times Higher Education *This [is an] impressive book...This hefty and well-written book offers a scholarly breadth and attention to detail that are certainly laudable. The book is quite unusual in that it includes a comprehensive review of the soft tissues associated with cranial features and discusses them within the context of evolutionary morphology and the fossil record of the human skull. I can think of no other volume that packages the anatomy of the human head in this fashion...Lieberman's big book definitely moves us ahead in effectively synthesizing so much of what is currently understood about the structure, function and evolution of the human head. -- Brian T. Shea * American Scientist *By rooting his study in the basics of tissue mechanics and functional morphology, Lieberman does the spadework to which all such studies aspire but few achieve--and makes that task seem elegant and effortless. -- Henry Gee * Nature *Daniel Lieberman marshals diverse evidence to provide a comprehensive framework for understanding patterns of variation and covariation in the form, function, and phylogeny of the human head...The breadth and diversity of subject matter the volume will impart to the reader is particularly laudable. Lieberman's holistic approach is a welcome, if not requisite, strategy for addressing a multifarious biological system such as the human head. The book's focus on both hard- and soft-tissue components, consideration of how such elements correspond to one another, and comprehensive overview of external and internal influences on patterns of morphological variation and covariation clearly set the tone for how one might profitably investigate cranial evolution across all vertebrates. The introductions to myriad biological concepts, surveys of some modern approaches to outstanding paleoanthropological questions, and review of fossil evidence regarding evolutionary transformations in human skull form will enlighten readers of all backgrounds. The Evolution of the Human Head is an entertaining read...It contains a wealth of information relevant to human evolution. In doing so, it offers a wonderful entrée into many of the outstanding issues that will undoubtedly remain at the center of debates regarding human origins for years to come. -- Matthew J. Ravosa * Science *

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Book SynopsisAre the “culture wars” over? When did they begin? What is their relationship to gender struggle and the dynamics of class? In her first full treatment of postcolonial studies, a field that she helped define, Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, one of the world’s foremost literary theorists, poses these questions from within the postcolonial enclave.Trade ReviewGayatri Spivak’s most recent text, A Critique of Postcolonial Reason, brings together in a single volume a wide range of her work in postcolonial studies… She weaves together these multiple levels of critique brilliantly, presenting a rigorous reading of the discourses of imperialism… A Critique of Postcolonial Reason presents a scrupulous discussion of imperialism in European philosophy, literature, history, and culture. -- Rachel Riedner * American Studies International *Gayatri Spivak’s long-awaited book…sets out to challenge the very fields Spivak has herself been most associated with—postcolonial studies and third world feminism… [A Critique of Postcolonial Reason] is remarkable for the warnings it provides—powerful critiques of diverse positions structure the author’s stance—as guardian in the margin. Spivak forcefully interrogates the practices, politics and subterfuges of intellectual formations ranging from nativism, elite poststructuralist theory, metropolitan feminism, cultural Marxism, global hybridism, and ‘white boys talking postcoloniality.’ -- Yogita Goyal * New Formations *A Critique of Postcolonial Reason is almost above all else self-conscious, self-aware, self-deprecating. In 139 brilliant footnotes to ‘Culture,’ Spivak carries on a running engagement with the flotsam and jetsam (what Walter Benjamin called the ‘detritus’ of culture or ‘Trash of History’) of what passes for public life and the attendant information and culture industry in this global thing we live in: ad campaigns by clothing designers, articles and stories from the New York Times or ‘Good Morning America’… Spivak’s tone makes the book a constant pleasure. A mocking smile seems always present, along with sincere engagement with important issues… From the first page of the preface to her footnote almost 400 pages later about the exchange with the World Bank official at the European Parliament, Spivak focuses on the ignorant, arrogant Eurocentric destruction of people and the environment and the enabling practices of culture that make it possible… This is a most important and significant book. -- David S. Gross * World Literature Today *Spivak focuses on the relationship of debates in philosophy, history, and literature to the emergence of a postcolonial problematic. Overall, she seeks to distance herself from mainstream postcolonial literature and to reassert the value of earlier theorists such as Kant and Marx… Those already interested in the postmodern and postcolonial debates may find her style invigorating. -- Kent Worcester * Library Journal *Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, one of the foremost thinkers in postcolonial theory, looks at the place of her discipline in the academic ‘culture wars.’ A Critique of Post-Colonial Reason includes a reworking of her most influential essay, ‘Can the Subaltern Speak?’ which has previously appeared in only one anthology. * Publishers Weekly *Gayatri Spivak works with remarkable complexity and skill to evoke the local details of emergent agency in an international frame. Her extraordinary attention to the texts she reads and her ability to track the reach of global power make her one of the unparalleled intellectuals of our time. -- Judith Butler, author of The Psychic Life of PowerA founder of postcolonial studies surveys the current state of the field and finds much to criticize. This is vintage Spivak—dazzling, often exasperating, but unfailingly powerful. -- Partha Chatterjee, author of The Nation and Its FragmentsIn these pages Gayatri Spivak performs what often seems either impossible or purely gestural—a critique of transnational globalization which manages to be equally attuned to its cultural and economic effects. This book deserves to be read for its modulated defense of Marxism and feminism alone. It will be welcomed as the clearest statement to date of Spivak’s own relationship to the postcolonial theory with which she herself—wrongly, as she forcefully argues here—is so often identified. With a brilliance that is uniquely hers, Spivak issues a challenge which will be very hard to avoid to the limits of theory and of academic institutions alike. -- Jacqueline Rose, author of States of FantasyGayatri Spivak tells us that here she charts her progress from colonial discourse studies to transnational cutlural studies. She does so brilliantly. And she does so much more. She constructs this extraordinary progress through an intricate labyrinth, but one with blazing lights in every corner. -- Saskia Sassen, author of Globalization and Its DiscontentsTable of Contents* Preface *1. Philosophy *2. Literature *3. History *4. Culture * Appendix: The Setting to Work of Deconstruction * Index

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Book SynopsisAlthough eugenics is now widely discredited, some groups and individuals claim a new scientific basis for old racist assumptions. Pondering the continuing influence of racist research and thought, despite all evidence to the contrary, Robert Sussman explains why—when it comes to race—too many people still mistake bigotry for science.Trade ReviewNot only is this book a significant contribution to the view of race and racism in traditional ‘four-field’ anthropology in the U.S., but it is also important to the understanding of global notions of contemporary racism… The Myth of Race encourages us to understand where stereotypes and misinformation fit in our consideration of whether and how notions of biological race remain pervasive in today’s discourse and policy. -- Yolanda T. Moses * Times Higher Education *Explores how the faulty concept of race embedded in our culture affects where we live, go to school and work. It influences our choice in friends and our treatment in the healthcare and justice systems. -- Jeff Adachi * San Francisco Examiner *Sussman does a masterful job of tracing racist thought in western Europe and the U.S. from 15th-century polygenics through the eugenics of the 20th century to the continued racism and anti-immigration stances of today’s radical Right… Although the racists at whom Sussman directs his message are unlikely to read it or to credit it if they do, this book should be in every library, from high school through public to university, in hopes that it will affect some minds before they become completely shuttered by prejudice. -- L. L. Johnson * Choice *The idea of race, writes the author, is a cultural rather than biological reality. Tribes always believed that strangers were subhuman, but they could overcome their inferiority by joining the tribe—e.g., converting to Christianity or adopting Roman citizenship… Today, since racism is politically incorrect, Sussman maintains, supporters have migrated en masse to the anti-immigration movement… Sussman delivers a lucidly written, eye-opening account of a nasty sociological battle that the good guys have been winning for a century without eliminating a very persistent enemy. * Kirkus Reviews *Sussman, an anthropology professor at Washington University in St. Louis, explores and explodes the concept of race. He contends that, in the face of a longstanding scientific consensus that race possesses no biological basis, many people still mistakenly believe that traits like aggression, intelligence, and generosity can be traced to it. Noting that racial distinctions between humans have no biological basis is not new, Sussman makes his contribution by exposing the ways that academic ‘science’ is invoked to authorize an outmoded concept. He traces the history of ideas about race, moving briskly from the Spanish Inquisition to Linnaeus and Kant, and offering a detailed discussion of eugenics. Lest readers imagine this is all in the distant past, Sussman devotes his last three chapters to the funding mechanisms that keep racist research alive today. He shows that ‘science’ has been used in efforts to overturn civil rights legislation, and he examines the ways racist discourse has become intertwined with immigration policy. This book, which is both provocative and commonsensical, will be useful to scholars, but may also spark a broader conversation. * Publishers Weekly *Robert Sussman’s penetrating study of the major figures who constructed concepts of race lays bare the personal biases, enmity, and corruption that influenced the intellectuals and politicians who framed modern industrialized societies. It also reveals unexpected heroes whose clear-minded insights into human diversity presaged our modern understanding. The Myth of Race is a suspense-filled and richly scholarly tour de force. -- Nina G. Jablonski, Evan Pugh Professor of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State UniversityWhat is most remarkable is how Sussman manages to tie in past attitudes toward race with ongoing political developments. He demonstrates a seamless continuity of current attitudes with past ones in a way I have not seen attempted elsewhere, and in my view he succeeds brilliantly: the final chapters, in particular, make chilling reading. This is a book written straight from the heart, and it reads that way. -- Ian Tattersall, author of Race? Debunking a Scientific Myth

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