Can anyone recommend books on anthropology?

Question

I'm wondering about some essential reading on general cultural anthropology. If you had to recommend 10 essential books, or 5, what would they be? I'm not talking about textbooks. Thank you!

Answer 1

Sorry, I don't know. But this question has been asked before; you could do a Search and read what folks have said.

You could also go to a good used book store (one near a university), and just browse around.

Answer 2

If you are looking for great studies in cultural anthropology, I would recommend:

Argonauts of the Western Pacific by Bronislaw Malinowski (essential reading for anyone interested in anthropology)

Tricksters and Trancers: Bushman Religion and Society by Mathias Guenther  

Mama Lola: A Vodou Priestess in Brooklyn by Karen McCarthy Brown

Witchcraft, Oracles, and Magic Among the Azande by Edward E. Evans-Pritchard

Through the Eye of the Needle: A Maori Elder Remembers by Mary Katharine Duffie

Woman Who Glows in the Dark: A Curandera Reveals Traditional Aztec Secrets of Physical and Spiritual Health by by Elena Avila and Joy Parker

Dancing Skeletons: Life and Death in West Africa by Katherine Dettwyler

Check out works by Ruth Benedict, Marvin Harris, Claude Levi-Strauss, also:

Conformity and Conflict: Readings in Cultural Anthropology by James Spradley

Decolonizing Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples by Linda Tuhiwai Smith

The Social Construction of What? by Ian Hacking

Finally, see here for some great suggestions as well. I keep this page bookmarked:

http://home.comcast.net/~dwtaylor1/weath...