An interesting historical and anthropological explanation of the waning days ...
359209
An interesting historical and anthropological explanation of the  waning days of the Raj in Burma, wrapped up in a decent novel.
781894
What an interesting book. Author Demos, an expert on colonial and early American society, brings  insights gained from a long career to illustrate how everyday life was impacted by the absence of things we now take for granted and depend upon. Anyone who lived through last October's New England snowstorm can relate, because, although it was only for a week, life was rather primitive for those of us without electric power. Demos describes how dark it was outdoors in the absence of artificial light sources; as a result, life constricted at night, as people retreated to their own firesides for comfort and safety. It's hard to imagine today going to bed at 6 PM on winter evenings and not rising until the sun appeared 10 hours later. Your house was your world for those hours. With respect to lifestyle, there was no conception of adolescence or middle age. People were young, kids treated like small adults, and after 40 or 50 years, if you were fortunate, you'd be old. These are just a few examples of how our views and expectations have changed, radically, over the centuries. Circles and Lines is a scholarly work but eminently readable and appealing. Recommended for anyone with an interest in American history and the evolution of everyday life.
2987446
First, a caveat:  I am no history buff.  I tended to avoid history through the years, but have appreciated Standage's approach to themed explorations of culture and civilization.

I don't contribute actively in social media very often (save the occasional book/product review), but do appreciate its power and importance.

Standage provides a nice overview of how these concepts have appeared universally through the ages and bursts the bubble on the idea that this is a "new" thing for us.  It's not exhaustive yet it is inspirational enough to whet one's appetite for more.

If I were to point out any flaws, I'd focus on two key areas:
- bias to Western culture. There's no reference to Asian culture or to African culture.  There's no way that either continent stood silent through the eons.
- I expected to see some discussion of Emojis and how these compare to petroglyphs and hieroglyphics through the ages.

I'd easily recommend this for anyone keen on taking a look back as they consider the potential of emerging technologies.  It's an interesting journey to see how innovation draws from honouring our longstanding traditions.
3974788
As with "War of the Witches", Knab has once again presented the world with some rather hard to find ethnographic information. The modern day practices found among these Central American people is outlined extremely well in this book. While "War of the Witches" was a purely fictional account mixed with anthropological evidence, "Dialogue" is a straight ethnographic report from the POV of an anthropologist. Much research went into the book on Knab's part and citations to other scholarly material are incorporated well and appropriately. Unlike many similar texts, it's not as dry a read as you'd probably find among such scholars as Lopez-Austin.

However, unlike other scholars who perform in depth ethnographic analysis between modern practices and the beliefs of ancient Mesoamerican peoples, Knab almost seems to deliberately shy away from any concrete conclusions. For those who are already familiar with ancient Mesoamerican religion and belief systems, it's possible to gleam some interesting ideas from the text. But those who aren't, or those who are just beginning to learn about Aztec/Mesoamerican cosmovision, might have a hard time seeing the similarities between the old and modern cultures. Furthermore, because not all of the modern practices seem to hold relevance to those of times past, it's possible for the reader to become confused with the "old" ways and the current worldview since Knab doesn't seem to draw a well-defined line between cultures.

There is a lot of useful anthropological information in this book for those familiar with ancient Mesoamerican religious and spiritual beliefs, but for those without the background it's as though the author is expecting us to take the modern system at face value for the original. For a brief and broad example, the original Mesoamerican beliefs about the god Tlaloc are far from complete based on the iconographic, written and archaeological records, but those held by the modern Mesoamericans reported by Knab don't seem to mesh on several fronts. Likewise, there are several modern practices that seem to blend well with the old evidence and actually seem to explain several logic loopholes that have been left for current academics to fill in. Because of this I'm surprised Knab didn't provide a more thorough ethnographic analysis, tying in what works and what doesn't while explaining what has changed over time with Christian influence. This analysis would have provided the reader with a more useful book. I don't expect Knab to do everything, but I'm quite surprised that his work hasn't handed itself to more thorough analysis by scholars who specialize in such comparisons.

In short, while I wish Knab would have spent more time on the ethnographic analysis between the old and modern beliefs, his book is still a storehouse of information, albeit one that requires the reader to make too many assumptions, potentially without access to important primary sources that could assist the reader in an educated conclusion. Either way, it's still an good read and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in Mesoamerican cosmovision, both old and new.
112730
This fascinating book investigates a lost culture that thrived in northern Turkey before an inundation in 5600BC turned a freshwater lake into what is now the Black Sea by connecting it to the Mediterranean. Such a cataclysmic event must have caused major destruction and caused the death of thousands of people. It would also not have been restricted to the area under consideration.
By looking at the archaeological evidence brought to light by Robert Ballard's submarine explorations and by comparing the flood myths of the world, Wilson connects this disaster with the Biblical account of the Great Flood. He demonstrates that the Biblical account is composed of two different texts that were integrated, texts that he calls J and P. The opening part of original separate strands are displayed side by side. I found this very interesting; each of them is coherent in its own right but has a different emphasis. Both are in fact more coherent on their own than integrated as in the Bible.
Wilson suggests that Turkey and the Black Sea area may be the real cradle of civilization. It was the first Post Ice Age civilization and it flourished until about 6000BC. The metropolis of this culture was what is today called atal Hyk, a city that was abandoned around this time, most probably because of climate change. It gets really interesting when he looks at the diaspora caused by these natural disasters; Wilson points out shared characteristics of the Minoan culture and the megaliths on the islands of Malta and Gozo. This includes the worship of bulls and the prevalence of the Mother Goddess which is found over an even larger geographic area.
There are far flung cultures displaying similarities to traits found at atal Hyk, including in Egypt and Sumeria. I found his discussion of loan words in Sumerian very enlightening. Although Wilson is not a linguist, I would have liked a deeper exploration of historical linguistics to cast more light on the matter. He does look at the work of Indo-Europeanists Marija Gimbutas and Colin Renfrew. According to the consensus, the original Indo-European language is considered to have broken up into daughter languages between about 5000 and 4000BC.
Another puzzle is why the Indo-European and Semitic parent languages share so many common vocabulary items. Looking at the bigger picture of the Nostratic (or Eurasiatic according to Joseph Greenberg) language family, one finds that there is a great structural similarity between Indo-European, Uralic-Yukagir and even Eskimo, but relatively few shared vocabulary items, the fewer the further North and Northwest you from the Black Sea/Caucasus area. Semitic (a member of the large Afro-Asiatic family) and Indo-European display fundamental structural differences, but share certain phenomena that are clearly linked across their family lines, including key words for concepts like  "full, horn, ear, eye, bull, earth."
Wilson refers extensively to the work of Dr James Mellaart, the excavator of atal Hyk. This theory of an original civilization in the Anatolian/Black Sea area before Egypt and before Sumeria is highly original and very plausible. Wilson is just scratching the surface and further investigation would no doubt lead to more remarkable discoveries. According to the Good Book, there is no end to many books. In this case, the more the merrier.
This is a bold direction and needs an interdisciplinary approach. It would be of great value if the author incorporates the work of linguists like Greenberg and Merritt Ruhlen in his further writings. The book concludes with notes & references, a bibliography, an appendix of some key documents and an index. The text is illumed by some really gripping maps and illustrations. I would not classify Before The Flood as "alternative history" - rather the cutting edge of historical research, already underpinned by significant archaeological discoveries.
1727397
Lee's book, "Man As The Prayer", offers interesting speculations into the origins of humankind. He explains the importance of rain and horses in the evolution of humans as signs that the annual mating season (he believes that males and females lived separately for much of their evolution) of these hominoids was near. He further tells about how these signs became incorporated into the prayers of the males who were hopeful to meet with females. Therefore, he interprets what most archaeologists term "Acheulean hand axes" as stone raindrops made to supplement their prayers. He also says that the European cave paintings of horses (among other animals) depict the males' prayers for horses to come because the females traveled with horses in search of food and water. Although reproduction is obviously important to the survival of a species, I personally believe that ancient hominoid lives were more difficult Lee interprets them. Why wouldn't males use tools to hunt (which would be beneficial considering their decreasing body and canine size) instead of to attract females? This explanation (and others that Lee's book contradicts)seems much more plausible to me.
Lee's book is an interesting and impressive story with sufficient documentation for the points that have evidence to back them up. He also shows knowledge of modern non-human primates, which can be used to infer characteristics of ancient hominoids. However, for much of the information in the book, there is no evidence. It seems that Lee has used some sparse archaeological evidence to make inferrences that should not be made from that little evidence. Much about how ancient hominoids lived cannot be suggested by fossil evidence, and many of Lee's speculations cannot be proven by studies of non-human primates (such as the use of flowers and the beginnings of language being based on mating).
"Man As The Prayer" is an interesting book that contradicts many of the suggestions about ancient hominoid lives. It offers a refreshing view on human evolution; however, there is not much evidence to back up Lee's speculations.
3812780
The time is 1854; the place is London; and a cholera epidemic has broken out.  Not that unusual, but the very localized nature of the epidemic stirs the curiosity of one John Snow, a physician and pioneer in the administration of the newly discovered anesthetic, ether.  The conventional wisdom is that cholera is somehow related to the stench in the air--miasma--present over much of the city where common practice was to dump excreta in cesspools, basements, or increasingly into sewer pipes that ran into the Thames.  But Snow wonders, as he goes through the weekly medical records, why some areas of SoHo have great numbers of deaths, while other areas close by have very few cases.  He is aided in his research by the Rev. Henry Whitehead whose parish work in the area provides him with keen insights into the people and their habits.

In time, and through mapping the distribution of cases, the two men discover that the pattern is related to which of the many wells that serve the city the inhabitants get their drinking water from.  Later it is discovered that the instigator was a woman who discarded soiled water from a child with cholera that seeped into the defective well casing.  Despite the early work of the two men, their research is derided until later the woman and the soiled water, the timing of this event, and other factors finally convinced the authorities, and the medical communitiy, that bad smells did not necessarily lead to bad illnesses.  One of the fascinating clues was that a brewery that got its water from the infected wells had none of its employees get cholera, which made sense when it was discovered that a quart or so per day of the brewery's product  was part of their pay.  Therefore, these guys had no need to drink water with all of the free beer available!

This is an interesting book, well-written in general, though at times somewhat redundant in telling the reader what has has been told previously.  I got the feeling that originally this was intended for a lengthy essay on the 1854 epidemic, then expanded into a book.  Some of Johnson's ruminations about the future in the last chapter suggest this.  Nonetheless, a good and interesting read and a fine example of evaluating all alternatives, the utility of visual presentation of data and the scorn that one must endure when one challenges covententional wisdom.
2256800
I think the authors did an excellent job with such limited means. Very economical. Further, I do believe there is something of an overall angle, maybe two or three. Two are tied together: the growth of a dynamic culture through constant trading activity--which actually led to the hybridization of many cultures around the Mediterranean. Also, the authors stress the gradual means by which historical change typically occurs. So, a generally gradualist approach, an emphasis on cultural hybridity and economic activity seen as requirements in the forging of a dynamic cultural milieu, along with the authors' willingness to entertain the various interpretations past historians have given to relatively scant historical evidence, make this a sophisticated and up-to-date introduction--and perhaps even an entertaining albeit brief corrective for old historical misunderstandings and/or biases.
2688742
This is an as yet unequalled study on an aspect of the cultural history of the West (and in particular of the English-speaking world) which has up to now been under-rated. The so-called occult, despite its important place in  the dynamics of cultural interaction, has not been granted its proper place  in history, not so much because of any particular "conspiracy"  but rather due - paradoxically - to a "Victorian" view by which  "history" is mainly or exclusively limited to political, military  and economic problems. The early aspects of the impact of the Theosophical  movement on Anglo-American culture have been documented here, and it is to  be hoped that it will stimulate other researchers to explore this  many-faceted topic.
3209564
I've been reading about the many different classes of people during the Middle Byzantine and this book has been an enjoyable and interesting read.  I like how the papers are quite different from one another, and yet fit together under the theme.  Especially enjoyed the illustrations with the article by Timothy Dawson, the boots were a revelation!  I also found the article on women's ownership of property and how persons were identified in records and what that likely meant-- truly interesting and gave new dimension to my understanding of life in that period and region.  Worth reading!
1176139
It gave an interesting view of the different "classes" of people and how they lived and traveled at that time.
3289972
This is a good introduction to our distant past and ancestors for beginners in the subject.  Leakey writes very well and explains things quite concisely.  He gives an overview of the major theories, but due to the shortness of the book (only 171 pages including index) he only fleshes out his own theories.  I am not an expert in anthropology so I don't know if he is grasping at straws or not.  He gives a pretty good bibliography in the back for further reading.  There are some problems with the book.  First, it is very short, so the author does not have time to really delve into the different theories as much as you may wish he would.  Second, this book was written almost ten years ago.  There has been more discoveries since then, including the 6 million year old hominid fossils in Chad, which I wish he addressed in an epilogue or an updated version of the book.  I would recommend this if you have no background in anthropology and then do some extra research on the web to get up to date with new findings.
1973432
The authors, like me, are faculty at the Unversity of Michigan.  We are not in the same unit and I don't know the authors socially.

The authors of this very interesting book are 2 prominent archaeologists who spent their careers studying the emergence of state-level societies.  Flannerey and Marcus describe how stratified societies emerged from egalitarian foragers following the end of the last Ice Age.  Their method is to study ethnographic and historical accounts of human societies at varying levels of stratification to identify distinctive social features of these societies and their physical correlates.  The latter are used to identify the social features in archaeological studies and allow historical-sequential reconstruction.  Much of the book is devoted to providing a substantial number of examples of these analyses.  There is a lot of very interesting detail contained in the descriptions of ethnographic and archaeological studies.

The sequence that Flannery & Marcus reconstruct starts with foragers of the last Ice Age.  With a warming climate and more favorable conditions, more food resources became available, often in a "delayed return" strategy in which human efforts to increase foraging resources were potential precursors of sedentism and agriculture.  In many cases, these efforts led, over considerable time, to domestication of new food resources and agricultural societies.  This led to the formation of "achievement societies" in which individuals, generally men with talents, charisma, and drive could attain leading to dominating positions in their societies.  These societies did not usually exhibit hereditary privilege and had mechanisms to prevent hereditary stratification.  Flannery & Marcus are careful to point out societies, like those of the Pacific Northwest where this occurred without agriculture.  Under some circumstances, achievement societies would develop into "rank" societies with inherited privilege, often focused on single lineages.  Rank societies could then aggregate into kingdoms and kingdoms into early empires.

This is not a teleological scheme.  Flannery & Marcus stress that each stage can exhibit some equilibrium.  Achievement and Rank societies can cycle between these 2 conditions.  Flannery & Marcus describe the transitions between stages and some of the mechanisms, which often appear to be driven by forms of competition and emulation among societies and elites.  Technological innovations, warfare, and the highly contingent roles of charismatic individuals appear to be important in transitions.  Flannery & Marcus stress the roles of religion and cosmologies in providing legitimacy and social cement for differentiating societies.

Written for a general audience, this book contains more than enough scholarly detail to be useful to historians, anthropologists, and archaeologists, but the text is generally quite accessible and useful for general readers.  The bibliography is useful.  There are some minor defects.  Flannery & Marcus don't include an analytic overview that summarizes their scheme.  Some additional hypotheses about forces driving stage transitions would have been interesting.  Finally, implicit in much of the discussion is a view of human behavior which sees humans, particularly men, as having a significant impulse to domination.  In egalitarian forager societies, this is restrained by material circumstances and active efforts of these societies.  Flannery & Marcus suggest also that in many societies, social stratification is essentially displaced into cosmology with elements of such stratification returning in more complex societies via religious mechanisms.  This is quite interesting but not discussed explicitly.
3850139
Interesting insight to a changing era in world history
3157246
Astronomer Matthew Hedman compiled his series of public lectures explaining recent advances in the physical sciences into a fascinating book.  Using a multidisciplinary approach, the field of dating evidence from the past is broached from the big bang through to the evolution of numerous and various civilizations.  Using a wide range of time scales, specific points in time are examined and the dating methods described and explained.  Chapters range from the Mayan calendar, Egyptian pyramids, Carbon 14 dating with its standardization, Potassium and Argon tracings, the current molecular dating, evidence from meteorites, the age of the stars along with the age of the universe.  Science attracts problem solvers, and included here are myriad chronological mysteries which become more graspable as techniques are devised enabling us to expand understanding of past history.  This is a science detective story where clues regarding the past are revealed through circuitous means which enable the generation of hypotheses for further testing and expansion of data.  While the written text is black and white, it is skillfully reinforced with clarifying tables and explanatory diagrams.  It would be a enriching supplement to secondary and college multidisciplinary science programs.
4939715
The migration of populations, across oceans, frontiers, economic and political divides, has been a prominent human behavior since modern man first emerged from Africa, and has continued to the present day. This compact volume explores particularly the migrations in and out of Europe since 1500, and the political, cultural, and economic aspects of these vast population movements. Much of this restless movement represented the flow of labor from regions with too many people to regions where labor was desperately needed. In recent times these dynamics have been counter-balanced by political attempts to control or restrain migration, or to address it, ineffectively, as a transient phenomenon.

Some of the subjects addressed include the migrations of 1500-1800 (out of Europe), the accelerated pace of migration from 1800 to 1913, and the reverse migrations back into Europe from 1914 to 2010. The author attempts to put these movements of populations into a context of globalization and a world economy, supplying people where they are needed in a global economic system.

Author Massimo Livi-Bacci writes in a dense, scholarly style, employing vast arrays of facts and statistics to illustrate his points. It makes for somewhat difficult reading. If you're interested in the movement of peoples around the world in the setting of a global marketplace, you will find this book fascinating. I recommend it, but it's not for everyone. Reviewed by Louis N. Gruber.
3930420
The studies of culture as seen and interpreted is drawn by the
Many factors of society at the time of study.  The pre war years of the 1930's created the environment where the study of isolated
Cultures was possible but the imposed societal backgrounds of the anthropologist were the uncontrolled variables...human emotions play out in isolated environments.
Interpretation by those left is the story......