Order from a Major Online Bookstore
Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine
Save Your Time And Money
| AnyBook4Less.com | Order from a Major Online Bookstore |
|
| Home | Store List | FAQ | Contact Us | | ||
| Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine Save Your Time And Money |
||
 |
Title: The Mountain People by Colin Turnbull ISBN: 0-671-64098-4 Publisher: Touchstone Books Pub. Date: 01 June, 1987 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.6 (15 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Social "Fabric" is Fragile
Comment: The Mountain People by Colin Turnbull gives anthropolical "proof" of how tentative and fragile are the things that we like to think make us human. In Turnbull's study of the Ik tribe in northern Uganda, he shines a bright light on a couple of items. First, his facts bear out how conceited the "civilized" world can be about their social and cultural values; it is easy to treat our fellow people nicely as long as our bellies are full. Indeed, the examination of the Ik shows just how much our morality and good nature is a luxury, added on to make us feel self-important. The conclusion to this observation is further proof that our morals are tentative and made-up. By no means are they universal or written in our brains by God, as religion suggests. Second, Turnbull makes another strong point about how similar we are to animals. The differences between animal behavior and human behavior are very slight and subtle. To him, this is not a bad thing. I suppose the book would be quite shattering for one who shallowly believes in the superiority of humanity over all else. Of course, because the book is so well presented, one could draw different philosophical observations. Generally, Turnbull refrains from philosophizing, and presents his accounts of the Ik without judging them.
Rating: 4
Summary: Disturbing and thought-provoking...
Comment: Colin Turnbull's, Mountain People, is a study and commentary on the dark side of human nature. Easily readable, and at times humorous, this account of Turnbull's fieldwork with the Ik will not produce warm fuzzies, or reestablish one's faith in the innate goodness of mankind. Anyone with an interest in anthropology, psychology, or sociology will appreciate the observations made by Turnbull. He takes a controversial stand in the book, advocating the separation and relocation of the Ik people. His reasons for making such a shocking suggestion are fully developed in the text. It is also of interest to note that Turnbull's fieldwork was done in the 60's, and much water has passed under the bridge since then... for the Ik, and the world in general.
Rating: 4
Summary: Author's thesis as disturbing as the events described
Comment: I'm surprised that the other reviews haven't been more critical of this book. Yes, it is captivating, the sort of book that engrosses you and that you can't wait to pick up again to continue reading. But its worth mentioning that in the end the author, an accomplished anthropologist, concludes that these Mountain People are worthless and should be forcibly disintegrated as a society. He finds them to have become basically inhuman, not as caring as animals, and recommends that the government launch a military style operation to forcibly remove them far away so that they can't return to their lands. And to break them into small groups of 10 or so individuals and purposely break up the family groupings and deposit them among people of other cultures (in Uganda), so that they will lose their language and culture and finally cease to exist. Since the government didn't like this idea, he hopes that the people's sheer isolation will cause them to die out forever.
Now, its worth reading the book to see how someone can come to these conclusions, and he's got a decent argument. I don't disbelieve what the author saw, and I've spent years working in Africa myself. I know that people can be treacherous and deceitful, and had to accept that their moral system was not my own. I'm glad that Turnbull exposes just how nasty and awful to each other people can be. This is normally glossed, painted and plastered over when people write about Africa, and its refreshing to see someone really give an non-romanticized account of day to day life. But the author constantly passed judgements on the people in this book, something I try hard not to do because its important to see out of the boundaries of one's own cultural beliefs.
What happened to scientific impartiality, and how can an anthropologist be so ready to judge this odd culture and deem them absolutely worthless and in need of anihilation? The conclusions voiced in the final chapter made me reexamine the views expressed throughout the book, and wonder about bias.
The society and humanity of the Ik disintegrated as they were pushed into starvation, in large part because their traditional hunting grounds were turned into a national park and they were shut out. I'm not sure why the anthropologist didn't recommend (since the government asked) that they be given some limited subsistence hunting rights, or be integrated into the tourism economy, so that they would regain food security and possibly start changing for the better. In the end the most puzzling thing was the author's unhidden hostility toward the Ik--who do sound horrible, but this is no impartial anthropological work. It made me wonder about background and personal biases or agenda of Turnbull, who grew up and began his career in the days of colonialism.
 |
Title: The Forest People (Touchstone Book) by Colin M. Turnbull ISBN: 0671640992 Publisher: Touchstone Books Pub. Date: 01 July, 1987 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
 |
Title: Gopalpur; A South Indian Village. (Case Studies in Cultural Anthropology) by Alan R. Beals ISBN: 0030453712 Publisher: Harcourt Brace College Publishers Pub. Date: 01 June, 1980 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
 |
Title: The Harmless People by ELIZABETH MARSHALL THOMAS ISBN: 067972446X Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 23 October, 1989 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
 |
Title: Cultural Anthropology With Infotrac by Serena Nanda, Richard L. Warms ISBN: 0534614795 Publisher: Wadsworth Publishing Company Pub. Date: 01 July, 2003 List Price(USD): $87.95 |
 |
Title: The Rashaayda Bedouin: Arab Pastoralists of Eastern Sudan by William Young ISBN: 0155015133 Publisher: Harcourt Pub. Date: 01 September, 1995 List Price(USD): $23.95 |
Thank you for visiting www.AnyBook4Less.com and enjoy your savings!
Copyright� 2001-2021 Send your comments
