Review: Our Kind

From pop anthropologist Harris (Good to Eat, America Now, etc.): the Big Picture. While shining the light of anthropology on the full spectrum of behavior--from our sexual precedents in primates to the development of states and religion--Harris is working out a personal agenda. He is antidiffusionist, antirelativist, and strongly opposed to currently popular notions of biological determinism, offering instead cultural evolution to explain behavior (in effect championing free will and the possibility of change for the better). He dismisses the idea that males are naturally more aggressive, pointing to the role of hunter, due to greater size, as the shaper of the distinction (further, because men then controlled weapons, they came to dominate); that we are driven to reproduce (ex-farming societies produce fewer children, as the free labor no longer outweighs the expense); that we must protect our genetic kin (there is a near-universal incidence of infanticide as a form of birth control and sex selection); and that incest taboos are hard-wired (incest is taboo because small hunting bands needed to be exogamous to form alliances for survival). Harris' style is breezy and readable, and much here is fascinating--e.g., unlike most empires that employed captives as slaves to produce more food, the Aztecs' meat- and arable-land-poor environment led to the offering of captives as food, whence their bloody religion of human sacrifice. Some of this is elementary or pointless (for instance, a chapter that explains that breathing has not affected cultural selection); but Harris' provocative, personal views engage throughout: popular anthropology, then, that's likely to be quite popular.

Perhaps one of the greatest books ever written. I've been doing an independent research project that has a lot to do with social anthropology. There is no better source than this book for any anthropological or psychological work.

Review: Our Kind: Who We Are, Where We Came From, Where We Are Going

Back in the beginning of 2011, I had taken American Mosaic an Anthropology class on America. The bookstore had mixed up the books for a Cultural Anthropology class and the American Mosaic one. My ... Read full review

Review: Our Kind: Who We Are, Where We Came From, Where We Are Going

Marvin Harris argues with such an even-toned sense of consideration that he could probably make the outlandish seem plausible. However, that sort of radical sophistry doesn't seem his aim in this work ... Read full review

Review: Our Kind: Who We Are, Where We Came From, Where We Are Going

I highly recommend this book for those looking for insight into human evolution and culture. One can really learn a lot about our natural instincts, cravings, thoughts, and behaviors. It's written in essays form and it's very easy to read and accessible for readers of all levels. Read full review

Review: Our Kind: Who We Are, Where We Came From, Where We Are Going

Something of a chronological summary of anthropology from human origins to Yuppies and whether the species will survive. Organized in short 3-10-page chapters with all kinds of interesting ... Read full review

Review: Our Kind: Who We Are, Where We Came From, Where We Are Going

Marvin Harris explains culture by knotting a beadchain. He starts at the beginning with the emergergence of mankind, putting one chapter after the other without dropping the thread until he reaches ... Read full review

Review: Our Kind: Who We Are, Where We Came From, Where We Are Going

Way back in human history, one brave soul decided to take the first upright step and such was the beginning of "our kind". Marvin Harris takes us through the evolution of humankind very thoroughly in ... Read full review

Review: Our Kind: Who We Are, Where We Came From, Where We Are Going

This is a book I had to purchase for my Cultural Anthropology course last semester. I really enjoyed what I read, but have yet to actually finish it. I will definitely get back to reading it, though. Read full review

Review: Our Kind: Who We Are, Where We Came From, Where We Are Going

Excellent review, commentary, and Science based on the Authors work in Anthropology. A wealth of interesting facts about people, and science. Read full review