Anthropology Books

Recent decades have seen a dramatic shift away from social forms of gambling played around roulette wheels and card tables to solitary gambling at electronic terminals. Slot machines, revamped by ever more compelling digital and video technology, have...

Most people in the world today think democracy and gender equality are good, and that violence and wealth inequality are bad. But most people who lived during the 10,000 years before the nineteenth century thought just the opposite. Drawing on...

As countless love songs, movies, and self-help books attest, men and women have long sought different things. The result? Seemingly inevitable conflict. Yet we belong to the most cooperative species on the planet. Isn't there a way we can use this...

Autism has attracted a great deal of attention in recent years, thanks to dramatically increasing rates of diagnosis, extensive organizational mobilization, journalistic coverage, biomedical research, and clinical innovation. Understanding Autism, a...

The American military base on the island of Diego Garcia is one of the most strategically important and secretive U.S. military installations outside the United States. Located near the remote center of the Indian Ocean and accessible only by military...

How does an ethnographer write about violence? How can he make sense of violent acts, for himself and for his readers, without compromising its sheer excess and its meaning-defying core? How can he remain a scholarly observer when the country of his...

Combining great learning, interpretative originality, analytical sensitivity, and a charismatic prose style, Clifford Geertz has produced a lasting body of work with influence throughout the humanities and social sciences, and remains the foremost...

Back in print after thirty years, this is a classic collection of Chomsky essays. It is particularly valuable as the first of Chomsky's works to fully demonstrate his power as a political thinker. In his biting critiques of American foreign policy, the...

This book traces the history of the camel from its origins millions of years ago through to the present day, discussing such matters of current concern as the plight of camel herders in Sudan's war-torn Darfur region, the alarming increase in the...

This groundbreaking book by the acclaimed Dorothy Roberts examines how the myth of biological concept of race-revived by purportedly cutting-edge science, race-specific drugs, genetic testing, and DNA databases-continues to undermine a just society and...

Perhaps Studs Terkel's best-known book, Working is a compelling, fascinating look at jobs and the people who do them. Consisting of over one hundred interviews conducted with everyone from gravediggers to studio heads, this book provides a timeless...

"Island of Bali" is now available with a foreword by Professor Adrian Vickers which puts the book into context for a modern audience. First published in 1937, "Island of Bali" is still regarded by many as the most authoritative text on Bali and its...

A fascinating examination of contemporary Chinese culture, The Chinese Mind offers an informative, accessible look at the values, attitudes and behavior patterns of modern China-and their roots in the history of this ancient nation.This excellent...

In thisremarkable and often dazzling book, Paul Carter explores the conditions for sociabilityin a globalized future. He argues that we make many assumptions about communicationbut overlook barriers to understanding between strangers as well as the...

Dogs are perhaps our most popular pets, and certainly one of the best-lovedof all animals. This book unravels the debate about whether dogs are descended from wolves, and moves on to deal with canines in mythology, religion and health, dog cults in...

Chinese Art is a guide to the meanings behind the hundreds of common motifs and symbols found in all forms of Chinese art. A thorough examination of the diverse usage of natural symbols, colors, numbers, inanimate items and personages,Chinese Art...

In The Japanese Mind, Roger Davies offers Westerners an insightful guide to understanding the unique aspects of Japanese culture.Readers of this book will develop a comprehensive grasp of Japanese society and the core values that remain at its foundation...

Shortlisted for the Blake Dawson Prize for Business LiteratureImmediate, intimate, portable and inexpensive, radio is the most pervasive medium in Australia. Changing Stations is the first full-scale, national history of commercial radio in Australia,...

In this newly revised edition of their classic work, Mason and Caiger trace the enthralling evolution of modern Japan from its early pre-history through the post-Cold War period to the collapse of the Bubble Economy in the early 1990s. New findings shed...

Featuring full-color photographs and illustrations throughout, this text is a comprehensive guide to Japanese culture. The richness of Japan's history is renowned worldwide. The heritage of culture that its society has produced and passed on to future...

As Mary Malbunka shares her stories of playing with friends, building cubby houses, climbing trees, collecting sugarbag, digging for honey ants, hunting for lizards, and learning about the seasons, animals and plants, she creates a vivid picture of a...