Description
Book SynopsisTold from an ordinary man’s perspective, these are the journal and letters of Wilhelm Weike as he accompanied Franz Boas—the father of modern anthropology—on his journey to the arctic from 1883 to 1884. This extraordinary document of early arctic history provides a plain, direct view of the Inuit and the whalers in their arctic environment at the end of the 19th century. With invaluable contextual and complementary information, this book contributes key insights during the recent wave of scientific assessment of Franz Boas’s legacy in all social sciences.
Trade ReviewWeike's journal and letters do not stand alone. Introductory material and extensive background on both Boas and Weike and on the Arctic during the period add to and amplify the first-person account.
Inuit and Whalers on Baffin Island through German Eyes greatly enriches our picture of the intermingling of indigenous and European cultures in the late nineteenth-century Arctic." —www.ForewordReviews.com (November 2011)
"[A] German servant's 1883 Arctic journal details challenges of daily living. . . . Weike's descriptions of the Arctic weather and terrain, his precise observations of life and impressions of his encounters with Inuit, whalers and wildlife bring you back to a time when winter started in late August." —www.NunatsiaqOnline.ca
"As servant to Franz Boas 'Weike finally gets his day in the limelight, and it is a cause for reflection on the social blind spots of even the greatest of men, as well as the scientific habit of monopolizing all of the credit for oneself, as if assistants, informants, and other hangers-on contributed nothing to the accomplishments of the scientist.'" —Jack David Eller, Community College of Denve
"Weike's journal is a fascinating text and an exceptional piece of working-class literature." —www.IASSA.org
