Description
Book SynopsisA biography that reconsiders Landes' life, work, and career, and places her at the heart of anthropology. The daughter of Russian Jewish immigrants, Landes studied under the renowned anthropologist Franz Boas and was mentored by Ruth Benedict.
Trade Review"This comprehensively researched biography by Cole is a poignant and fascinating look at a troubled career within the history of American anthropology. . . . Cole's reevaluation is written with balance, sensitivity, and a real affection for her subject."—
Library Journal"[T]his study of Landes's life and scholarly importance adds to the scholarship of a critical feminist history of anthropology. . . . This is an excellent introduction to the world of 1930s-70s anthropology as well as an insightful critique of the discipline."—
Choice“Sally Cole’s perceptive and engaging biography does much to reclaim Landes’ work from the margins of anthropology…. Cole does not flinch from portraying the less attractive parts of Landes’ personality…but the tone of her book is overwhelmingly one of appreciation for her contributions.”—Louise Lamphere,
Current Anthropology"An excellent biography of an important anthropologist. . . . Cole persuasively makes the case for Landes as an intitiator of the study of gender and class in anthropology. She demonstrates the high quality of Landes's inquiries and their relevance to current questions. Through her examination of Landes's life, Cole shows that in rediscovering the present in the past, anthropologists can enrich their perspectives of the present."—Virginia H. Young,
American Ethnologist“Sally Cole has performed signal service to anthropologists by restoring them to a forgotten ancestress, Ruth Landes. . . . [She] self-consciously follws in Landes’s footsteps. Cole not only retraces them, biographically, but becomes, like Landes, an anthropologist giving voice to another woman’s story. And what a story it is! . . . Cole’s biography nicely balances biographical detail and scholarly evaluation.”—
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