Social Science: Anthropology & Sociology Books

ANCIENT ENCOUNTERS: Kennewick Man and the First Americans
by James C. Chatters. B&W photo section; B&W maps. Condition: Gently pre-read, if at all, 2001 Simon & Schuster hardcvoer & DJ (in mylar jacket), first printing. Content: In this intriguing work of scholarly detection, forensic anthropologist James Chatters relates the story of a fossil discovery that has challenged received wisdom about the peopling of the Americas--and that has touched off a storm of controversy. On July 28, 1996, two students happened on a skull that peeked from the mud of a Washington riverbank. When police officers arrived at the site, they called in Chatters, a deputy coroner and scientist. At first glance, Chatters guessed that the skull was that of a white pioneer, perhaps a hundred or so years old, but on examining other skeletal remains, he began to suspect that the human eventually dubbed "Kennewick Man" was much older indeed. Various scientific tests proved him right: the skeleton was around 9,500 years old. But Kennewick Man, he announced, was also "Caucasoid" in appearance, a revelation that triggered charges of racism and tomb-robbing by local Native Americans, who claimed the remains as part of their cultural heritage. The announcement also drew in white supremacists, who seized on Chatters's discovery to argue that their forebears were the first to arrive in North America. Both the term "Caucasoid" and its racially charged interpretations were off the mark, Chatters writes, for Kennewick Man should be seen as an ancestor to us all. Some of his features, and those of other ancient remains found elsewhere in the Americas, suggest a kinship with peoples as various as Polynesians, Ainu, medieval Icelanders, and Australian aborigines. More important than bloodline is the revision that Kennewick Man and his cousins force in our account of the arrival of humans in the Americas, which, Chatters argues, happened in waves over long periods of time and involved people of widely varied features and genetic traits. Writing evenly of a controversy that continues to rage, Chatters provides a behind-the-scenes view of physical anthropology, as well as a fascinating revision of the human past. Questions welcome. [1 copy available]
$ 9.59 + $ 3.29 media shipping.

BIZARRE BELIEFS
by Simon Hoggart and Mike Hutchinson. B&W and color photos, maps & drawings illustrate. Condition: NEW 1995 Richard Cohen Books (London) soft cover, first printing. Content: Do UFOs really exist? Or are they figments of the imagination? Did Nostradamus have the uncanny gift of foretelling the future? Or was he simply a charlatan? Many people associated with the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb were said to be cursed. True? Or a classic example of a paranormal myth? Do spiritualists and mediums really contact the departed? Or is it a clever confidence trick? Fortune telling, psychic detectives, astrology, ghosts, hypnosis, coincidence, dowsing, fire walking, the Loch Ness Monster are some of the intriguing subjects covered in a lively and stimulating text (including over 100 photographs, engravings, paintings and cartoons in color and black and white) which helps the reader to choose whether to believe--or not. Interesting book on how the rest of the world lives & believes. Questions welcome [1 copy available]
$ 5.49 + $ 3.19 media shipping.

BLACK, WHITE, JUST RIGHT! (A Book for Interractial Children)
by Marguerite W. Davol. Perfect color illustrations by Irene Trivas. Condition: UNREAD, but not perfect, 1993 Albert Whitman hardcover (pictorial boards - no DJ issued), first printing. This is an un-shelved school library book with a stamp inside front cover and no other markings. Content: A mixed-race child celebrates the rich inclusiveness of her life in a joyful picture book. Mama's face is chestnut brown, Papa's face turns pink in the sun, the child's a little dark, a little light, "Just right!" Each double-page spread shows how members of the family are individuals with likes and dislikes, hobbies and habits that move beyond stereotype. Mom orders vegetarian; Dad orders ribs and bagels; the child likes it all. Mom does ballet; Dad dances to rap. Mom likes African masks; Dad goes for modern art; the child loves the Egyptian part of the museum. Each page has a rhyming refrain that ends, "just right." In keeping with the upbeat text, Trivas' energetic gouache illustrations are full of movement and affection. A photo of the author with her ``just-right'' grandchildren (also evidently from an interracial family) is included. (Picture book. 3-8) Questions welcome. [1 copy available.]
$ 4.89 + $ 3.19 media shipping.

THE COMANCHES: A History 1706 - 1875 (Studies in the Anthropology of North America)
by Thomas W. Kavanagh. B&W maps and charts illustrate. Condition: NEW 1999 Bison Books Trade Paperback, first printing. 586 pages. Content: This is the first in-depth historical study, Comanche social and political groups. Using the ethnohistorical method, Thomas W. Kavanagh traces the changes and continuities in Comanche politics from their earliest interactions with Europeans to their settlement in present-day Oklahoma. Focus on the various Comanche tribes and their own traditions - Yamparikas, Jupes, Korsotekas. Quahadas, Penatekas, Tenewas, and Nokonis. Questions welcome. [1 copy available]
$ 12.55 + $ 3.19 media shipping. Priority & International shipping available.

DICTIONARY OF NATIVE AMERICAN TERMINOLOGY
by Carl Waldman. Pen & ink drawings by Molly Braun. Condition: NEW 2009 Castle Books hardcover & DJ (in mylar jacket), no printing given. Content: This is a "reissue" of the 1944 book with B&W drawings by Molly Braun added for this edition. Covers subjects: Arts & crafts; food & agriculture; architecture; legend & myth; language; music; religion & ritual; and recreation & sports. [1 copy available]
$ 7.49 + $ 3.29 media shipping.

ETHNOGRAPHIC FILM
by Karl G. Heider. B&W charts illustrate. Condition: UNREAD, but NOT perfect, 1978 Univ. of Texas Trade Paperback, assumed first printing. The color of the wraps is weak showing multiple rubbings on fromt & back covers. Light edge wear. Interior clean & tight. Content: Even before Robert Flaherty released Nanook of the North in 1922, anthropologists were producing films about the lifeways of native peoples for a public audience, as well as for research and teaching. This book was one of the first books to provide a comprehensive introduction to this field of visual anthropology, and it quickly became the standard reference. Questions welcome [1 copy available]
$ 5.49 + $ 3.19 media shipping International shipping available.

FUTURE SHOCK
by Alvin Toffler. . Condition: UNREAD 1981 Bantam paperback, 40th printing. Tiny edgewear and binder's glue strings down spine. Interior clean & tight with light tanning to page edges. Content: In the thrity years since its original publication, the basic truths and awesome prognositications have largely come to pass. Of course, in the process Mr. Toffler has become something of a cottage industry himself, since publishing several sequels (The Third Wave, Power Shift, etc.). Yet nothing surpasses the sheer magnitude of the argument forwarded here. Toffler marshalls a virtual mountain of evidence illustrating his claim of a rising flood of techniological, social, and economic change, largely emanating from the increasing influence of science and technology into every area of contemporary life. And there's no let-up in sight. [1 copy available]
$ 2.89 + $ 2.89 media shipping.

THE HIGHEST STAGE OF WHITE SUPREMACY:
The Origins of Segregation in South Africa and the American South
by John W. Cell. Condition: New 1992 Cambridge University Press Trade Paperback, reprint. Tiny edgewear & small, pale impression front cover. Interior perfect. Content: An original and exciting work of comparative history, this book analyzes the origins of segregation as a specific stage in the evolution of white supremacy in South Africa and the American South. Unlike scholars who have attributed twentieth-century patterns of race relations to the continuation of earlier social norms and attitudes, Cell understands segregation as a distinct system and ideology of race and class division, closely associated with urbanization, industrialization, and modern processes of state and party formation. Originally advocated by moderates and liberals, rather than by racist fanatic with whom it later came to be identified, segregation became comparatively sophisticated, flexible, and absorptive. In its ambiguities even advocates of black power could sometimes find a basis for collaboration. An excellent insight into origins of racism. [1 copy available]
$ 18.85 + $ 3.19 media shipping.

LIFE IN THE PUEBLOS (AKA Workaday Life of the Pueblos)
by Ruth Underhill. B&W photos and drawings. Beautiful cover art by Jemez artist Vidal Casiquito. Condition: NEW 1991 Ancient City Press Trade Paperback, first printing. Perfect. Content: Originally published in 1946 as Workaday Life of the Pueblos by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. This edition is "edited" and possibly "revised" (the book itself does not state it is "revised", but other sources do state it), but there is no detail about what has been edited or revised. Nevertheless, this is a book worth reading as an intimate look at daily life of the Pueblo Indians, past and present, describing their food, shelter, clothing, games, and other aspects of their existence. Questions welcome - enlightenment on this book also welcome. [2 copies available]
$ 7.50 + $ 2.89 media shipping. Priority shipping available.

THE MAGICK OF FOLK WISDOM: a Source Book From the Ages
(AKA Folkways, Reclaiming the Magic and Wisdom)
by Patricia Telesco. B&W drawings & decorations illustrate. Condition: NEW 2002 Castle Books hardcover & DJ (in mylar jacket), first thus, first printing. Only "flaw": crease on inside flap edge. Otherwise perfect. Content: Originally published under the title "Folkways, Reclaiming the Magic and Wisdom" in 1994. Tap into the rich legacy of over 650 folk beliefs. An ideal reference tool for magical practitioners or anyone interested in the superstitions and customs of our ancestors. Includes explanations of amulets, celestial objects, crystals, numerology, folk medicine, and more. Excellent research tool for writers. [1 copy available]
$ 8.59 + $ 3.19 media shipping.

MAN, THE PROMISING PRIMATE: The Conditions of Human Evolution [Second Edition]
by Peter J. Wilson. Condition: NEW 2002 Yale University Press Trade Paperback, second edition, third printing. Content: A fascinating monograph on the conditions of human evolution and the conditions required by it . . . .This is first-rate scientific speculation -- lucid and straightforward. This is an excellent analysis, and though it goes to the heart of issues in genetics and anthropology, it is eminently accessible for the general reader. [1 copy available]
$ 3.29 + $ 3.09 media shipping.

THE MAN WHO FOUND THE MISSING LINK: The Extraordinary life of Eugene Dubois
by Pat Shipman. B&W photos, maps, and drawings illustrate. Condition: NEW 2002 Phoenix/Orion (London) Trade Paperback, first printing. Content: This book the story of one of the greatest scientists at the turn of the century - a Dutchman called Eugene Dubois, now largely forgotten, but the man whose discovery of the 'missing link' altered our view of human origins. As a young man, he decided that the most important contribution a man could make to science would be to find the missing link. It would be the proof of Darwinian evolution, then still controversial. He deduced where the missing link should be and found the fossil, now known as homo erectus, in Java in 1891. Shipman uses a fascinating range of letters, diaries and photographs to tell the story of how Dubois' life and career exploded across the world in the 1890s. [1 copy available]
$ 6.79 + $ 3.19 media shipping.

MARGARET MEAD AND SAMOA: The Making and Unmaking of an Anthropological Myth
by Derek Freeman. B&W era photo section. Condition: UNREAD 1983 Harvard hardcover & DJ (in mylar jacket0, no printing given. Very light edge wear to DJ corners, top & bottom spine. Content: In 1928 Margaret Mead announced her stunning discovery of a culture in which the storm and stress of adolescence didn't exist. The resulting book, "Coming of Age in Samoa" has since become a classic - and the best-selling anthropology book of all time. Within the nature-nurture controversy that still divides scientists, Mead's evidence has long been a crucial "negative instance", an apparent proof of the sovereignty of culture over biology. In this book, the author presents startling but wholly convincing evidence that Mead's proof is false. On the basis of years of patient fieldwork and historical research, Freeman refutes Mead's characterization of Samoan society and adolescence point for point. Far from the relaxed transition to adulthood that Mead ascribed to permissive child-bearing and restrictive regulations against premarital sex. Reviewer: "The is a most important book because it sets the record straign about Margaret Mead. Her book on Samoa created a false understanding of primitive peoples. She went to Samoa to do her PhD dissertation and came back with a myth that supported the prejudices and biases of her graduate advisor, Franz Boas. She purportedly discovered that the Samoans were the personification of Jean Jacque Roussoue's "Noble Savage." There were unspoiled by the vices of Western Civilization. The biggest vice was supposedly the West's repressive sexuality that gave rise to social aggression of various kinds. Derek Freeman blows all of this out of the water. He points out among other things that Mean [sic] did not know the language and stayed there only a few weeks. This does not come up to the standards of methodology that anthropologists have come to accept to accurately understand and describe a culture." [1 copy available]
$ 19.49 + $ 3.29 media shipping.

THE NEW HISTORICISM
edited by H. Aram Veeser. Condition: UNREAD 1989 Routledge Trade Paperback, no printing given. Tiny edgewear. Content: Following Clifford Geertz and other cultural anthropologists, the New Historicist critics have evolved a method for describing culture in action. Their "thick descriptions" seize upon an event or anecdote--colonist John Rolfe's conversation with Pocohontas's father, a note found among Nietzsche's papers to the effect that "I have lost my umbrella"--and re-read it to reveal through the analysis of tiny particulars the motive forces controlling a whole society. Contributors: Stephen J. Greenblatt, Louis A. Montrose, Catherine Gallagher, Elizabeth Fox-Genovese, Gerald Graff, Jean Franco, Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, Frank Lentricchia, Vincent Pecora, Jane Marcus, Jon Klancher, Jonathan Arac, Hayden White, Stanley Fish, Judith Newton, Joel Fineman, John Schaffer, Richard Terdiman, Donald Pease, Brooks Thomas. Questions welcome. [1 copy available]
$ 14.49 + $ 3.29 media shipping.

THE MYSTIC ROSE: A Study of Primitive Marriage and of Primitive Thought in Its Bearing on Marriage (Revised & Greatly Enlarged)
by Ernest Crawley. Revised & greatly enlarged by Theodore Besterman. Condition: Good+, pre-read 1960 Meridian Books large Trade Paperback, first thus, first printing. Vertical creases front cover with crease down spine. Interior clean & tight. It's the cover that presents the problem with this book. Content: Originally published c. 1902 with a second edition c. 1927, this book presents Crawley's discontent with traditional interpretations of the subject of marriage. Crawley develops a theory which draws together insight into the religious attitudes of primitive cultures and the sexual and biological foundations of marriage to provide a unique, and now classic, interpretation. Crawley died before he could undertake a revision, the task was performed by Theodore Besterman who, in addition to augmenting the text, supplied a comprehensive index and bibliography. Questions welcome. [1 copy available]
$ 4.49 + $ 3.29 media shipping..

RATS, LICE AND HISTORY: Being a Study in Biography, Which, After Twelve Preliminary Chapters Indispensable for the Preparation of the Lay Reader, Deals With the Life History of Typhus Fever
by Hans Zinsser. Condition: Good only, 1971 Bantam paperback edition, 8th printing. Light edgewear and spine roll, spine crease with pale tanning to page edges. Content: The classic chronicle of the impact disease and plagues have had on history and society over the past half-millennium. Intriguingly fascinating and entertaining reading for anyone who is interested in how society copes with catastrophe and pain. Relevant today in face of the worldwide medical calamity of AIDS. Continuously in print since its first publication in 1935, with over 75 printings. [1 copy available]
$ 2.59 + $ 2.94 media shipping.

RED MAN'S RELIGION: Beliefs and Practices of the Indians North of Mexico
by Ruth M. Underhill. Loads of B&W maps and era photos illustrate. Condition: PLEASE READ / UNREAD, but not perfect, 1987 Univ. of Chicago Press Trade Paperback, 7th printing. Problems - some edge wear with several small "rubbings" front cover - interior clean & tight. Content: "The distinctive contribution of [Red Man's Religion] is the treatment of topics, the insight and the perspective of the author, and her ability to transmit these to the reader. . . . Trais and aspects of religion are not treated as abstract entitites, to be enumerated and summated, assigned a geographic distribution, and then abandoned. No page is a dry recital; each is an illumination. Insight and wisdom are framed in poetic prose. An offering of information in such a medium merits gratitude." Among the topics considered in this classic study are world origins and supernatural powers, attitudes toward the dead, the medicine man and shaman, hunting and gathering rituals, war and planting ceremonies, and newer religions, such as the Ghost Dance and the Peyote Religion. Questions welcome. [1 copy available]
$ 13.79 + $ 3.29 media shipping.

RETURN TO LAUGHTER: An Anthropological Novel
by Elenore Smith Bowen. Foreword by David Riesman. Condition: UNREAD 1964 Anchor paperback, 28th printing. Interior clean, tight, perfect, but bottom front cover corner shows diagonal creases with shelfwear hinge crease. Content: Although the politically correct and socially aware reader may be inclined to huff and puff a little bit over this anthropological journey through Africa, it is neccessary to take into account the actual year that this book was first written (1954). Aside from a few "dated" remarks, this book provides a tender glimpse into the field work of an anthropologist. A young anthropologist is confronted with a quagmire ethical and moral ambiguity as ideals and unconscious assumptions meet the reality of living within a human community. Witch trials and a smallpox epidemic provide a dramatic context for problems familiar to anyone living among strangers, whether in the next town or the next continent. Along the way, Return to Laughter also serves as an engaging, impressionistic, ethnography. In fact, I'm amazed at how many different layers of book Smith Bowen has squeezed into such a quick read. [1 copy available]
$ 9.39 + $ 2.94 media shipping.

RUBBISH! The Archaeology of Garbage: What Our Garbage Tells Us About Ourselves
by William Rathje and Cullen Murphy. B&W drawings. Condition: UNREAD 1993 HarperPerennial Trade Paperback, first thus, first printing. Tanning to interior page edges. Remainder. Content: An exciting and erudite investigation of the geography, history, composition, mythology, demographics, and widespread misperception of garbage--and the odd behavior of those who have made garbage what it is today. "Who would have thought reading about (garbage) could be so interesting and so much fun?--Chicago Tribune. Line drawings. A book about tomorrow's archaeological treasures. [1 copy available]
$ 4.79 + $ 3.19 media shipping.

SCIENCE ON TRIAL: The Case for Evolution
by Douglas J. Futuyma. B&W charts, drawings, & photos illustrate. Condition: UNREAD 1983 Pantheon Trade Paperback, 4th printing. Light foxing to edges. Content: The author strikes a telling blow for biology in the ongoing war of words with the 'creationists'. He provides a convincing explanation of the evolutionary process and at the same time an insight into the nature of scientific inquiry. "...can be read for pleasure and profit by people at all levels of biological sophistication ...a first-class book." The Quarterly Review of Biology [1 copy available]
$ 10.79 + $ 3.19 media shipping.

SEX AND CONQUEST: GEndered Violence, Political Order, and the European Conquest of the Americas
by Richard C. Trexler. George Catlin art work cover. Condition: UNREAD 1995 Cornell University Press hardcover & DJ (in mylar jacket), assumed first printing. B&W photos and drawings illustrate. Content: "An absolutely fascinating book on male sexual culture in Europe and the Americas during the conquest which will shock and take one's breath away." Reviewer: "Trexler's study of pre-conquest sexuality is thorough and thought-provoking. He investigates countless indigenous and Spanish sources to come up with a compelling argument that berdaches -- indigenous males who cross-dressed and perfomed female sex and social roles -- were part of the majority of indigenous cultures. He also demonstrates how those individuals were viewed by their peers and by the Spanish, and how the Spanish/European fear of homosexuality, specifically "passive" homosexuality, is responsible for the disappearance of the berdache. this book was highly readable for the more novice reader, but incredibly well documented (one hundred pages of notes) for the more academic reader. This book will likely go down as the definitive study on pre-conquest indigenous (homo)sexuality." [1 copy available]
$ 6.49 + $ 3.19 media shipping.

SEX IN HISTORY
by Reay Tannahill (Food in History). B&W illustrations. Condition: UNREAD, BUT NOT PERFECT, 1992 Scarborough large soft cover (490 pages), revised & updated edition. Problem: shelfwear diagonal crease bottom front cover corner - you know when some idiot shoves a book back on the shelf where there is no room for it - that's what caused this crease. Content: Sanity on the subject of sex is all too rare; wit is in even shorter supply; and an engaging style is about as commonplace as eyebrows on an egg. Reviewer: "Tanahill's writing is witty,interesting, and unbiased. She addresses the history of sexuality in almost every country and culture (not just Europe, which is what usually happens) and gives a history of humankind, from the Neolithic Revolution to the 1980s. It's well-researched and incredibly informative, filled with facts about gender roles and sexuality (and how this affects everything else in a society) throughout time." Questions welcome. [1 copy available]
$ 6.49 + $ 3.39 media shipping.

SOCIAL POLICY IN THE THIRD REICH: The Working Class and the 'National Community'
by Tim Mason. Condition: NEW 1997 Berg Trade Paperback, reprint. One very very pale impression front cover. Everything else perfect. Content: This book analyzes the attitudes and policies of the Nazi leadership towards the German working class. The author argues that the regime did not securely integrate the working class and was thus less successful in imposing mass economic sacrifices in the interests of forced rearmament. With a growing labour shortage in the late 1930s, industrial conflict re emerged. These two factors slowed down military preparations for war and may well, it is argued, have influenced Hitler's foreign policy in 1938/39.The author has added a substantial epilogue to this edition in which he responds to the main criticisms, aroused by the German original, and assesses the relevance of more recent research to the arguments put forward. Questions welcome. [1 copy available]
$ 15.49 + $ 3.09 media shipping. Priority shipping available.

THE STUDY OF CULTURE (Revised Edition)
by L. L. Langness. B&W photos, charts & maps illustrate. Condition: NEW 1997 Chandler & Sharp Trade Paperback (269 pages), revised edition, fourth printing. Tiny edgewear. Content: Reviewer: "Langness condenses in one small volume the major theories and writers of cultural anthropology. The book features extensive quotes from famous writings and profiles of important theorists like Lewis Henry Morgan, Edward Tylor, Bronislaw Malinowski and Marvin Harris. Graphs illustrate theoretical structures and a useful glossary is provided. A good choice for university and college level courses." [1 copy available]
$ 11.79 + $ 3.19 media shipping.

THE TERRITORIAL IMPERATIVE:
A Personal Inquiry Into the Animal Origins of Property and Nations
by Robert Ardrey. B&W drawings by Berdine Ardrey. Condition: UNREAD 1978 Bantam paperback, first printing. Tiny edgewear & deeply tanned page edges. The book had been shelved or stored poorly and has a slight "wave" to the back half of the book. 2 tiny smudges bottom edges which I'm working on. Actually, it's better than it sounds. Content: This book is an anthropology classic and is on the "must-read" list. "The overall argument of the book lends profound insight into the study of animal behavior (ethology i believe) and answered so many questions I had about my personal daily observations. This book also attempts to make a link between animal behavior and human behavior. Those who believe that humans are not animals, but higher than animals may want to skip this title if you don't have the courage. Keep in mind however that it was Carl Sagan who called for an alliance between religion and science and Pope John Paul II who said "Science can purify religion from error and superstition; religion can purify science from idolatry and false absolutes. Each can draw the other into a wider world, a world in which both can flourish... Such bridging ministries must be nurtured and encouraged."[1 copy available]
$ 4.89 + $ 2.89 media shipping.

TRAIL OF FEATHERS: In Search of the Birdmen of Peru
by Tahir Shah. Two color photo sections. Condition: NEW 2002 Phoenix (UK) trade paperback, first thus, first printing. Content: Enthralled by the chronicle of a 16th-century Spanish monk, which said that the Incas 'flew like birds' over the jungle, and by the recurring theme of flying in Peruvian folklore, Tahir Shah set out to discover whether the Incas really did fly or glide above the jungles of Peru. Or was it flight of a different kind, inspired by powerful drugs? After gathering equipment in London the long quest begins, in the mountains of Peru, with a trek to Machu Picchu, the Incas' most sacred city. Then on to the mountain city of Cusco and a mysterious island on Lake Titicaca, before the trail of clues leads to the coast and through the desert, to the immense animal-like etchings which form the Nazca Lines and a remote burial ground for 30,000 mummified corpses. And finally to an epic river-journey up the Amazon to discover the secrets of the Shuar, a tribe of legendary savagery. Even for a traveller so used to surreal adventures, there are many strange encounters - some gruesome, some hilarious - among madmen and dreamers, sorcerers, con-men and jungle experts, before he can at last discover the truth about the Birdmen of Peru. Questions welcome [1 copy available]
$ 15.00 + $ 3.29 media shipping. International shipping available.

THE WAR AGAINST THE AMAZONS
by Abby Wettan Kleinbaum. B&W photos & drawings illustrate. Condition: UNREAD 1983 McGraw-Hill hardcover & DJ (in mylar jacket), first printing. Light shelfwear to DJ edges. Interior clean & tight. Content: A look at male-dominated society and the methods they have used to dominate women - as seen through the metaphor of the ancient Amazons. [1 copy available]
$ 7.59 + $ 3.29 media shipping.

WARRIORS OF THE PLAINS (The Library of Native Peoples series)
by Thomas E Mails. B&W drawings by the Author. Condition: NEW 1997 Council Oaks Books Trade Paperback, first printing. Content: This books has been "culled" from Mails' Mystic Warriors of the Plains. A specialist in Northern Plains culture, Mails is known for large-format works, made especially distinctive by his own illustrations, which are now collected as art items and have also been reissued in paperback. As short, handy treatments of the Plains Indian culture for general readers, these four slim texts - the first in a series - are good compilations of accurate information on art, anthropology, religion, and history. Those who most appreciate Mails's previous work for its beautifully crafted art displayed in a generous format will be disappointed by these books (despite the instructive black-and-white illustrations - smaller format and smaller number from the large works of his), but sensitivity, accuracy, thoroughness, and even enthusiasm for the interesting lives of Native peoples survive. Mails' collection is a treasure trove of information on Plains Indians. The books detail all aspects of Plains Indian life -- ceremonial and spiritual practices, honor codes, warrior training, family and community customs, arts and crafts, and more. Each book contains 35 black and white illustrations. Questions welcome. [1 copy available]
$ 5.49 + $ 3.19 media shipping.

THE WHITE MAN'S INDIAN: Images of the American IndiaN From Columbus To The Present
by Robert F. Berkhofer, Jr. Condition: UNREAD, but not perfect, 1979 Vintage Trade Paperback, no printing given. Light edge wear with moderate tanning to page edges. Content: Reviewer: "is an invaluable text that compliments the ongoing ethnic studies/post-colonial studies canon excellently. Berkhofer enters the archival images that we as Americans have of The Indian (in its dualistic Good/Bad Native model), to deconstruct it, and to ultimately reveal the historical opportunities and reasons why there was a national production of such images in the first place. In many ways, Berkhoker's "The White Man's Indian" is a perfect companion to Edward Said's seminal text "Orientalism" in that what each aims to do is not to rest on simply recognizing stereotypes ("The Native", "The Oriental"), but to situate The Image in its historical socio-economic context, and to have critiques of The Image lead us deeper into the complexities of national hegemonic (re)productions of power. Berkhofer does not just repeat ad nauseum, "This is a stereotype", "That is a stereotype", etc. Instead, he looks at how the polarization of peoples into Old World and New World affected whole schools of thought and culture, like Evolutionism, Anthropology, and Christian theories of human genealogy. I would say that this text is alligned with the growing body of literature and scholarship that comes out of post-colonial critiques of the first-world's narcissistic (and violent) stranglehold on the production of self-aggrandizing myth making. And so, for contributing sorely needed scholarship that counter-pushes against our internalized presuppositions of "The Native" - deriving somewhere between Disney's Pochahontas and Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade - "The White Man's Indian" should be read by anyone who has a stake in resisting neocolonialism - which is to say, everyone. [1 copy available]
$ 7.49 + $ 3.19 media shipping. Priority & International shipping available.

THE WISDOM OF THE SERPENT: The Myths of Death, Rebirth, and Resurrection
by Joseph L. Henderson and Maud Oakes. B&W drawings, photos, maps illustrate. Condition: Used 1990 Princeton University Press edition Trade Paperback, third printing. The exterior looks unread and near perfect, but the interior has pencil underlinings and notes (most likely a college class book) through page 65 - and from there on it is unused. Content: The tribal initiation of the shaman, the archetype of the serpent, exemplifies the death of the self and a rebirth into transcendent life. This book traces the images of spiritual initiation in religious rituals and myths of resurrection, poems and epics, cycles of nature, and art and dreaming. It dramatizes the metamorphosis from a common experience of death's inevitability into a transcendent freedom beyond individual limitations".This is a classic work in analytical psychology that offers crucial insights on the meaning of death symbolism (and its inevitably accompanying rebirth and resurrection symbolism) as part of the great theme of initiation, of which [Henderson] is the world's foremost psychological interpreter. [1 copy available]
$ 4.89 + $ 2.89 media shipping.

WORKING IT THROUGH: An Elisabeth Kubler-Ross Workshop on Life, Death and Transition
by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross. Photos by Mal Warshaw. Condition: UNREAD 1987 Collier paperback, first thus, third printing. Tiny edgewear - otherwise perfect. Content: The companion guide to Elisabeth Kübler-Ross's famous workshops on death and dying. This remarkable guide to coping with death and dying grew out of Dr. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross's realization that she could help larger numbers of terminally ill people directly by meeting with them in groups. The first such meeting in 1970 led to hundreds more throughout the United States and the world and now to Working It Through, a testament to "faith and the ability to survive and transcend the most difficult trials in life" as Kübler-Ross writes in her foreword. The photographer Mal Warshaw has documented the workshops, and his moving photographs bring this already powerful book to life. [1 copy available]
$ 3.89 + $ 2.94 media shipping.

WRITTEN IN BONES: How Human Remains Unlock The Secrets Of The Dead
edited by Paul Bahn. Color photos and maps illustrate. Condition: NEW 2002 David Charles (UK) soft cover, no printing given. There is an oh-so-pale near crease fromt cover (shelf wear). Interior perfect. Content: Grisly, gross and utterly compelling ... with 250 color photographs, you may find it hard to put this down. As an introductory book to archeology and anthropology, this book is without peer. It's individual case studies are detailed enough to spark interest, but short enough not to bog down in details. There are lots of color photographs so the reader can see what the writer is trying to describe. The case studies cover many different parts of the world, including some that one doesn't readily connect with archeology, and many time periods, from 1.5 million years ago to a couple of hundred years ago. From these case studies one can begin to understand how ancient bodies are yielding their secrets to forensic science. Each case study produces more revelations. For me one of the most amazing was "The Wife of the Marquis of Dai" who died in China some 160 years before the birth of Christ. Her body is almost perfectly preserved and it has been discovered that she suffered from about 10 diseases, including tuberculosis, but that she died from a heart attack due to overeating. This book presents the results in a very readable fashion and should help to create wider interest and understanding of this fascinating topic. [1 copy available]
$ 6.50 + $ 3.29 media shipping.