Synopses & Reviews
andlt;Bandgt;ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT SCIENTIFIC MEMOIRS OF OUR TIME andlt;/Bandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;When Napoleon Chagnon arrived in Venezuelaand#8217;s Amazon region in 1964 to study the Yanomamand#246; Indians, one of the last large tribal groups still living in isolation, he expected to find Rousseauand#8217;s and#8220;noble savages,and#8221; so-called primitive people living contentedly in a pristine state of nature. Instead Chagnon discovered a remarkably violent society. Men who killed others had the most wives and offspring, their violence possibly giving them an evolutionary advantage. The prime reasons for violence, Chagnon found, were to avenge deaths and, if possible, abduct women. andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;When Chagnon began publishing his observations, some cultural anthropologists who could not accept an evolutionary basis for human behavior refused to believe them. Chagnon became perhaps the most famous American anthropologist since Margaret Meadand#8212;and the most controversial. He was attacked in a scathing popular book, whose central allegation that he helped start a measles epidemic among the Yanomamand#246; was quickly disproven, and the American Anthropological Association condemned him, only to rescind its condemnation after a vote by the membership. Throughout his career Chagnon insisted on an evidence-based scientific approach to anthropology, even as his professional association dithered over whether it really is a scientific organization. In andlt;Iandgt;Noble Savagesandlt;/Iandgt;, Chagnon describes his seminal fieldworkand#8212;during which he lived among the Yanomamand#246;, was threatened by tyrannical headmen, and experienced an uncomfortably close encounter with a jaguarand#8212;taking readers inside Yanomamand#246; villages to glimpse the kind of life our distant ancestors may have lived thousands of years ago. And he forcefully indicts his discipline of cultural anthropology, accusing it of having traded its scientific mission for political activism. andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;This book, like Chagnonand#8217;s research, raises fundamental questions about human nature itself.
Review
“One of history’s greatest anthropologists—and a rip-roaring story-teller—recounts his life with an endangered Amazonian tribe and the mind-boggling controversies his work ignited. Noble Savages is rich with insights into human nature, and an entertaining interlude with a remarkable man.” Steven Pinker, Harvard College Professor of Psychology, Harvard University, and the author of The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined
Review
“Noble Savages is an epic—not only of one of the most extraordinary physical and intellectual adventures ever experienced by a major scientist, but also the history of one of the most significant events in the early, often turbulent meeting between evolutionary biology and the social sciences." E. O. Wilson, Pellegrino University Professor Emeritus, Harvard University, and the author of The Social Conquest of Earth and Sociobiology
Review
andlt;divandgt;"Very few people have led lives as fascinating as Napoleon Chagnon's, or have lived among people as dangerous as the Yanomamö, and fewer still have his courage or his honor.
Review
andlt;divandgt;"andlt;iandgt;Noble Savagesandlt;/iandgt; is Napoleon Chagnon's equal-time response to the libels that were piled upon him by reckless journalists and irresponsible colleagues.
Review
andlt;divandgt;"A beautifully written adventure story. . . .andlt;Iandgt; Noble Savagesandlt;/Iandgt; is a remarkable testament to an engineer's 35-year effort to unravel the complex working of an untouched human society."andlt;/divandgt;
Review
andlt;divandgt;"One of the most interesting anthropology books I have ever read. . . . [Chagnon's] portrayal of society's origins has so
Review
andlt;divandgt;"Engaging. . . .
Review
andlt;divandgt;"This memoir, Chagnon's first book for a general audience, recounts with confident prose and self-effacing humor his intense immersion, from 1964 onward, within this fascinating people and their jungle environment. . . . In this invaluable book, Chagnon delivers a gripping adventure travelogue. His take on the corrupting relationship between politics and science is as likely to re-stoke the flames of debate as settle outstanding accounts."andlt;/divandgt;
Review
andlt;divandgt;"Fascinating reading for anyone interested in native peoples, history and where we all come from."andlt;/divandgt;
Review
andlt;divandgt;"It's not hyperbole to call
Review
and#8220;One of historyand#8217;s greatest anthropologistsand#8212;and a rip-roaring story-tellerand#8212;recounts his life with an endangered Amazonian tribe and the mind-boggling controversies his work ignited. andlt;iandgt;Noble Savagesandlt;/iandgt; is rich with insights into human nature, and an entertaining interlude with a remarkable man.and#8221;
Review
and#8220;andlt;iandgt;Noble Savagesandlt;/iandgt; is an epicand#8212;not only of one of the most extraordinary physical and intellectual adventures ever experienced by a major scientist, but also the history of one of the most significant events in the early, often turbulent meeting between evolutionary biology and the social sciences."
Review
andlt;divandgt;"An important contribution to the debates over the methods and theories used to understand humans in anthropology and evolutionary sciences--and to debates over how visionaries become the targets of those who do not share their vision."andlt;/divandgt;
Review
and#8220;Very few people have led lives as fascinating as Napoleon Chagnonand#8217;s, or have lived among people as dangerous as the Yanomamand#246;, and fewer still have his courage or his honor. andlt;iandgt;Noble Savages andlt;/iandgt;is a page-turning masterpiece. You donand#8217;t need to know anything about anthropology to read it. By the time you finish, youand#8217;ll know a lot."
Synopsis
The most controversial and famous anthropologist of our time describes his seminal lifelong research among the YanomamÖ Indians of the Amazon basin and how his startling observations provoked admiration among many fellow anthropologists and outrage among others.Napoleon Chagnon began his research on the YanomamÖ in 1964, ultimately spending the equivalent of five years among them, one of the last isolated large tribal groups still living in conditions found at the beginning of the agricultural revolution. His groundbreaking bestselling book YanomamÖ made Chagnon a household name among students of anthropology.
Rather than finding the YanomamÖ to be Rousseau’s “noble savages,” he discovered them to be a violent society. Men who killed others had the most wives and offspring, their violence giving them an advantage in evolutionary terms. The prime reasons for violence, Chagnon found, were to avenge deaths and, if possible, abduct women.
Politically correct cultural anthropologists in the United States refused to accept Chagnon’s empirical observations, and for his scientific integrity he was attacked by those who could not acknowledge an evolutionary basis for human behavior. Chagnon was the subject of a scathing popular book, and the American Anthropological Association condemned him, but later reversed its condemnation after undertaking a more careful review.
In Noble Savages, Chagnon for the first time tells about life among the YanomamÖ for a popular audience and indicts the discipline of cultural anthropology, accusing it of having lost its scientific identity, instead becoming a band of political activists. Noble Savages is one of the most significant works of anthropology ever published, indeed one of the most significant scientific memoirs ever written.
Synopsis
The most controversial and famous anthropologist of our time describes his seminal lifelong research among the YanomamÖ Indians of the Amazon basin and how his startling observations provoked admiration among many fellow anthropologists and outrage among others.Napoleon Chagnon began his research on the YanomamÖ in 1964, ultimately spending the equivalent of five years among them, one of the last isolated large tribal groups still living in conditions found at the beginning of the agricultural revolution. His groundbreaking bestselling book YanomamÖ made Chagnon a household name among students of anthropology.
Rather than finding the YanomamÖ to be Rousseau’s “noble savages,” he discovered them to be a violent society. Men who killed others had the most wives and offspring, their violence giving them an advantage in evolutionary terms. The prime reasons for violence, Chagnon found, were to avenge deaths and, if possible, abduct women.
Politically correct cultural anthropologists in the United States refused to accept Chagnon’s empirical observations, and for his scientific integrity he was attacked by those who could not acknowledge an evolutionary basis for human behavior. Chagnon was the subject of a scathing popular book, and the American Anthropological Association condemned him, but later reversed its condemnation after undertaking a more careful review.
In Noble Savages, Chagnon for the first time tells about life among the YanomamÖ for a popular audience and indicts the discipline of cultural anthropology, accusing it of having lost its scientific identity, instead becoming a band of political activists. Noble Savages is one of the most significant works of anthropology ever published, indeed one of the most significant scientific memoirs ever written.
About the Author
Napoleon Chagnon is distinguished research professor at the University of Missouri and adjunct research scientist at the University of Michigan, and a member of the National Academy of Sciences. He formerly taught at the University of California-Santa Barbara, Penn State, Northwestern, and the University of Michigan. He is the author of five previous academic books and lives in Columbia, Missouri.