Anthropology

This compilation of study guides features mostly nonfiction works studying human behavior and its relationship to the environment, culture, and society. Spanning decades this diverse collection includes titles such as Ruth Benedict’s Patterns of Culture (1934) and Jason De León’s The Land of Open Graves (2015). Read on to discover more about the research of leading anthropologists and evolutionary biologists, archaeological discoveries, and the origins of human behavior.

Publication year 2011Genre Book, NonfictionThemes Society: Economics, Society: Globalization, Natural World: Environment, Society: ColonialismTags History: World, Science / Nature, Anthropology

Publication year 2005Genre Reference/Text Book, NonfictionThemes Society: Politics & Government, Society: Economics, Society: Class, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Society: GlobalizationTags Business / Economics, Philosophy, Politics / Government, Anthropology, Social Justice

Publication year 2014Genre Book, NonfictionThemes Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Society: Nation, Society: Politics & Government, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Society: War, Values/Ideas: Equality, Society: Education, Identity: Race, Life/Time: The Past, Life/Time: The Future, Society: Community, Natural World: Place, Society: ColonialismTags History: U.S., Race / Racism, Social Justice, Politics / Government, Education, Military / War, Anthropology, Colonial America, Class, Colonialism / Postcolonialism

Publication year 1922Genre Book, NonfictionThemes Society: CommunityTags Anthropology

Argonauts of the Western Pacific: An Account of Native Enterprise and Adventure in the Archipelagoes of Melanesian New Guinea (1922) is an ethnological monograph by Bronislaw Malinowski, a leading anthropologist of his time. It concerns his research in what was then called “Melanesian New Guinea,” which is today known as the Kiriwana island chain, northeast of New Guinea. The work focuses on the trade, magic, and cultural traditions of the Trobriand people on the archipelago... Read Argonauts of the Western Pacific Summary


Publication year 2016Genre Novel, FictionThemes Identity: Masculinity, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Relationships: Siblings, Life/Time: Coming of AgeTags Race / Racism, Realistic Fiction, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Addiction / Substance Abuse, Animals, Anthropology

As Brave as You is a middle grade novel written by American author Jason Reynolds and published in 2016. It won several awards, including the Kirkus Award, the NCAAP Image award for children’s literature, and the Schneider Family Book Award, which recognizes superior depictions of disability in children’s literature. It was also chosen as a Coretta Scott King Honor book, awarded to African-American writers and illustrators for excellence in conveying the African-American experience in children’s... Read As Brave As You Summary


Publication year 1936Genre Novella, FictionThemes Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Natural World: Space & The Universe, Values/Ideas: Order & ChaosTags Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Action / Adventure, Anthropology, Military / War, Science / Nature, American Literature

At the Mountains of Madness is a science-fiction novella written by H. P. Lovecraft in 1931 and published in Astounding Stories in 1936. Like much of Lovecraft’s work, it also helped establish the genre of cosmic horror, or what Lovecraft called “weird fiction”: horror that relies on existential anxieties about humanity’s place in the universe to achieve its effects. The story involves a research team discovering an ancient city buried beneath the Antarctic. At the... Read At the Mountains of Madness Summary


Publication year 1998Genre Autobiography / Memoir, NonfictionThemes Natural World: Place, Relationships: Friendship, Natural World: Animals, Natural World: Flora/plants, Natural World: Environment, Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Society: CommunityTags Travel Literature, Humor, Science / Nature, Animals, Anthropology, History: U.S., Relationships, Politics / Government, Sports

A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail is a 1998 travel book by American-British author Bill Bryson. The book was a New York Times bestseller, and a 2014 Cable News Network (CNN) poll named it the funniest travel book ever written. In addition, it inspired the 2015 film A Walk in the Woods starring Robert Redford as Bryson, Nick Nolte as Stephen Katz (his primary hiking companion), and Emma Thompson as... Read A Walk in the Woods Summary


Publication year 2018Genre Biography, NonfictionThemes Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Relationships: Family, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Identity: Language, Identity: Race, Society: CommunityTags Historical Fiction, Harlem Renaissance, History: U.S., Race / Racism, African American Literature, Anthropology, Black Lives Matter, Civil Rights / Jim Crow, Grief / Death, History: African , Social Justice, Trauma / Abuse / Violence

Originally written in the late 1920s and early 1930s, Barracoon: The Story of the Last “Black Cargo” (2018) is the transcribed posthumous autobiography of the life of Oluale “Cudjo Lewis” Kossola (1841-1935), written by Zora Neale Hurston (1891-1960). Known for her involvement in the Harlem Renaissance, Hurston was a writer, anthropologist, folklorist, and filmmaker. In all her work, she held a special appreciation for Black life and Black culture of the US South. Her works... Read Barracoon: The Story of the Last "Black Cargo" Summary


Publication year 1976Genre Book, NonfictionThemes Identity: Race, Life/Time: The Future, Society: GlobalizationTags Anthropology, Arts / Culture, Sociology

Publication year 2009Genre Book, NonfictionThemes Identity: Race, Values/Ideas: Win & LoseTags Sports, Health / Medicine, Science / Nature, Action / Adventure, Travel Literature, Anthropology, Finance / Money / Wealth

Publication year 1945Genre Novel, FictionThemes Society: Community, Natural World: Place, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Values/Ideas: Beauty, Natural World: Environment, Relationships: FriendshipTags Historical Fiction, Classic Fiction, Arts / Culture, Anthropology, Animals, Class, Education, Philosophy, Poverty, Relationships, Science / Nature

Cannery Row by John Steinbeck was originally published in 1945. A Nobel Prize-winning writer, Steinbeck grew up in Salinas, California, which is near Monterey—the location of Cannery Row. Aside from a few years in Palo Alto, New York, and Los Angeles, Steinbeck spent most of his adult life living in Monterey County, and he drew on his personal experiences to write Cannery Row.Considered literary fiction or classic literature, Cannery Row is realistic and was written... Read Cannery Row Summary


Publication year 2004Genre Novel, FictionThemes Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Society: Colonialism, Society: Class, Life/Time: The Future, Life/Time: The Past, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Order & Chaos, Values/Ideas: Truth & LiesTags Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Social Justice, Anthropology, Class, Depression / Suicide, Finance / Money / Wealth, Politics / Government, Love / Sexuality, Race / Racism, Sociology, Religion / Spirituality

Cloud Atlas is a 2004 novel by British author David Mitchell. The sprawling narrative is composed of a series of nested stories, spanning centuries into the past and the future. In addition to winning numerous literary and science fiction awards, the novel was adapted into a 2012 film of the same name. This guide uses the 2014 Sceptre edition of Cloud Atlas.Content Warning: The novel and this guide depict slavery and discuss racism, death by... Read Cloud Atlas Summary


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David Graeber
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Publication year 2011Genre Book, NonfictionThemes Society: Economics, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Society: CommunityTags History: World, Business / Economics, Finance / Money / Wealth, Anthropology, Sociology

Publication year 1986Genre Book, NonfictionThemes Society: ColonialismTags History: European, Science / Nature, Anthropology, Animals, Agriculture, History: World

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Cat Bohannon
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Publication year 2023Genre Book, NonfictionThemes Identity: Femininity, Identity: Gender, Identity: Masculinity, Life/Time: The Past, Natural World: Nurture v. Nature, Relationships: FamilyTags Science / Nature, Gender / Feminism, Women's Studies (Nonfiction), Health / Medicine, Anthropology

Publication year 2013Genre Book, NonfictionThemes Society: Immigration, Natural World: Food, Society: Class, Society: Community, Society: Globalization, Society: Economics, Society: Education, Society: Politics & Government, Society: Nation, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Truth & LiesTags Anthropology, Social Justice, Sociology, Health / Medicine

Publication year 1985Genre Novel, FictionThemes Values/Ideas: Science & Technology, Values/Ideas: Order & Chaos, Values/Ideas: Equality, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Fate, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Society: Class, Society: Economics, Society: War, Emotions/Behavior: Hope, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Natural World: Nurture v. NatureTags Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Humor, Post Modernism, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, Finance / Money / Wealth, Anthropology

Galapagos is a 1985 novel by American author Kurt Vonnegut. The novel’s narrator is the long-dead Leon Trout, a ghost who watched the evolution of humanity of the course of a million years. The story explores the themes Nature Versus Nurture, Pacifism, and Regret.This guide uses an eBook version of the 1985 Dial Press edition.Content Warning: This novel depicts explicit acts of violence and refers to death by suicide.Plot SummaryLeon Trout, the story’s narrator, is... Read Galapagos Summary


Publication year 2019Genre Biography, NonfictionThemes Identity: Race, Identity: Gender, Identity: SexualityTags Anthropology, History: World, Science / Nature, Race / Racism

Gods of the Upper Air: How a Circle of Renegade Anthropologists Reinvented Race, Sex, and Gender in the Twentieth Century, was written by Dr. Charles King, and published in 2019 by Penguin Random House. King is a professor of International Affairs and Government at Georgetown University in Washington, DC, and the author of 10 books, predominantly on the subject of society, government, and culture in Eastern Europe. Gods of the Upper Air is a New... Read Gods of the Upper Air Summary


Publication year 1965Genre Book, NonfictionThemes Society: CommunityTags Anthropology

Guests of the Sheik is a nonfiction book set in Iraq in the early years of the Cold War. In 1956, Elizabeth Warnock Fernea accompanies her husband, Bob Fernea, on a two-year, anthropological, dissertation research trip. As a new bride who is entirely unfamiliar with the Middle East or its history and culture, Elizabeth lives in the rural tribal settlement of El Nahra among the El Eshadda tribe. Though she is unable to speak Arabic... Read Guests of the Sheik Summary


Publication year 1997Genre Book, NonfictionThemes Society: CommunityTags Anthropology, History: World

Historian and anthropologist Jared Diamond’s Guns, Germs, and Steel (1997) is a multidisciplinary study that uses anthropological, biological, evolutionary, and socio-economic analysis to chart the fates of different peoples throughout human history. Subtitled first as A Short History of Everybody for the Last 13,000 Years, and later as The Fates of Human Societies, the book seeks to understand why some groups of people have prospered while others have failed to advance to the same extent... Read Guns, Germs, and Steel Summary


Publication year 2015Genre Book, NonfictionThemes Values/Ideas: Science & Technology, Natural World: Environment, Life/Time: The Future, Natural World: Appearance & RealityTags Science / Nature, History: World, Philosophy, Anthropology

Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow (2015) is a work of popular science by Israeli writer, professor, and futurist Yuval Noah Harari. Published in multiple languages, it is a continuation of the work of Harari’s previous book, Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind. While Sapiens contextualized the advents of modernity within humans’ evolutionary legacy, Homo Deus speculates about what lies in wait for humanity in the distant future. Harari grounds his discussion in an... Read Homo Deus Summary


Publication year 2019Genre Book, NonfictionThemes Society: Community, Society: Politics & Government, Values/Ideas: Good & EvilTags History: World, Psychology, Philosophy, Politics / Government, Sociology, Anthropology, Dutch Literature

Publication year 1971Genre Book, NonfictionThemes Natural World: Environment, Natural World: Animals, Natural World: Nurture v. Nature, Natural World: Place, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: ForgivenessTags Science / Nature, Animals, Anthropology

Published in 1971, In the Shadow of Man is the third and most famous book by British primatologist Dr. Jane Goodall. The work details Goodall’s groundbreaking study of chimpanzees in Tanzania’s Gombe Stream National Park and her unlikely journey from being a secretary in the UK to heading a major chimpanzee study in East Africa and becoming one of the world’s foremost primatology experts. Functioning as both a memoir and a scientific exploration of chimp... Read In the Shadow of Man Summary


Publication year 2006Genre Autobiography / Memoir, NonfictionThemes Society: Community, Relationships: FriendshipTags Anthropology, Action / Adventure

Monique and the Mango Rains: Two Years with a Midwife in Mali is a work of narrative nonfiction written by Kris Holloway and published in 2006. Told through Holloway’s perspective, the book recounts the incredible life and death of a young Malian woman named Monique Dembele and her unlikely friendship with Holloway, who came to Mali as a young American woman serving in the Peace Corps in 1989.The book follows Monique, a midwife who strives... Read Monique and the Mango Rains Summary


Publication year 1935Genre Anthology/Varied Collection, NonfictionThemes Identity: Race, Identity: Language, Values/Ideas: Truth & LiesTags Fairy Tale / Folklore, African American Literature, Anthropology

Mules and Men is a work of nonfiction published in 1935 by the American author Zora Neale Hurston. Hurston, a student of anthropology, used ethnographic research methods to collect and record Black folklore in the American South. Consisting of two parts, the work first details some folktales elicited directly from residents of rural folklore, and secondly describes several hoodoo practitioners in New Orleans. This book explores themes of establishing origins and the difference between honesty... Read Mules and Men Summary


Publication year 1997Genre Book, NonfictionThemes Identity: Indigenous, Society: Colonialism, Society: GlobalizationTags History: U.S., Anthropology, Politics / Government, History: World, Colonial America

Publication year 1934Genre Book, NonfictionThemes Society: CommunityTags Anthropology

Patterns of Culture, originally published in 1934, is an anthropological text by Ruth Benedict. Translated into 14 languages and with three updated English editions, the book is considered a classic in American anthropology. This study guide uses the most recent, 2005 edition published by Mariner Books, which includes a foreword by Louise Lamphere, a preface by Margaret Mead, and an introduction by Franz Boas, the founding father of cultural anthropology.Benedict popularized the idea of cultural... Read Patterns of Culture Summary


Publication year 1976Genre Book, NonfictionTags Health / Medicine, Anthropology

In Plagues and Peoples, William H. McNeill argues that patterns of disease have integrally influenced human history from prehistory to the modern day. Until 1976, the year of this book’s publication, the historical study of disease was treated as a footnote of minor importance compared to war, agriculture, and politics. By contrast, McNeill takes a broader view and breaks human history into two categories. The forces of ecology and humanity are equally weighed in McNeill’s... Read Plagues and Peoples Summary


Publication year 1966Genre Book, NonfictionThemes Society: Community, Values/Ideas: Safety & DangerTags Anthropology

Originally published in 1966, Purity and Danger, by Mary Douglas, is a treatise on the concepts of purity and uncleanness in various societies and cultures. It is widely considered a classic in the field of cultural anthropology. Douglas (1921-2007), a British anthropologist with an interest in comparative religion, pursues the idea that dirt is abhorrent to us because it is “matter out of place.” She examines dietary rules, religious rituals, and social and sexual taboos... Read Purity and Danger Summary


Publication year 1977Genre Book, NonfictionThemes Society: Colonialism, Society: Community, Natural World: PlaceTags History: Middle Eastern, Anthropology, Education

Publication year 2014Genre Book, NonfictionThemes Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Identity: Disability, Identity: Race, Society: CommunityTags Anthropology, Race / Racism, Sociology, History: U.S.

Publication year 1985Genre Book, NonfictionThemes Life/Time: The Past, Natural World: Food, Society: ColonialismTags Anthropology, Food

Publication year 1938Genre Book, NonfictionThemes Identity: Race, Society: Community, Society: Politics & Government, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Values/Ideas: Truth & LiesTags Anthropology, History: African , Religion / Spirituality, Travel Literature, Fairy Tale / Folklore

Publication year 1959Genre Book, NonfictionThemes Society: War, Society: Colonialism, Values/Ideas: Power & GreedTags History: World, Anthropology, Grief / Death, Military / War, Colonialism / Postcolonialism, Latin American Literature

Publication year 2018Genre Book, NonfictionThemes Society: Community, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Values/Ideas: Truth & LiesTags Anthropology

The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas are Setting Up a Generation for Failure is a psychology book written by Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt and published in 2018. The nonfiction work, which expounds upon an essay the authors wrote for The Atlantic in 2015, became a bestseller and National Book Critics Circle Award nominee. The book argues that parents and schools, in an overabundance of caution, have taught children... Read The Coddling of the American Mind Summary


Publication year 1972Genre Book, NonfictionThemes Natural World: Environment, Society: Globalization, Society: Colonialism, Natural World: Flora/plants, Society: Economics, Identity: IndigenousTags History: World, Science / Nature, Anthropology

Publication year 2021Genre Book, NonfictionThemes Society: Class, Society: Economics, Society: CommunityTags Anthropology, Science / Nature, History: World

Publication year 1961Genre Book, NonfictionThemes Society: CommunityTags Anthropology, Action / Adventure

In The Forest People, anthropologist Colin M. Turnbull describes his experiences while living as a friend and observer with the BaMbuti (Pygmies) of the Ituri Forest. He shares the everyday lives of the Pygmies located in the Epulu River region and their interactions with each other and with him. The setting is the Belgian Congo, which Turnbull describes as located in the center of Africa. Turnbull had visited the Epulu BaMbuti in 1951. This narrative... Read The Forest People Summary


Publication year 1923Genre Book, NonfictionThemes Society: Community, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & PrideTags Anthropology, Sociology, Philosophy, Business / Economics

Publication year 1973Genre Book, NonfictionThemes Society: Colonialism, Society: Nation, Society: Community, Society: Politics & Government, Values/Ideas: Order & Chaos, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Emotions/Behavior: ConflictTags Anthropology, Sociology, Philosophy, Science / Nature, Psychology, Politics / Government

Publication year 2015Genre Book, NonfictionThemes Society: CommunityTags Anthropology

The Land of Open Graves: Living and Dying on the Migrant Trail is a 2015 work of nonfiction and the winner of four awards, including the J.J. Staley Book Prize in 2018. Drawing on his expertise in anthropology, ethnography and archeology, author Jason De León, Executive Director of the Undocumented Migration Project and current Professor of Anthropology and Chicano/a Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles, critiques the federal border enforcement policy known as... Read The Land of Open Graves Summary


Publication year 1991Genre Book, NonfictionThemes Natural World: Place, Society: Colonialism, Society: NationTags History: U.S., Politics / Government, Anthropology

Publication year 1949Genre Book, NonfictionThemes Values/Ideas: Fate, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Values/Ideas: Order & Chaos, Emotions/Behavior: HopeTags Philosophy, Religion / Spirituality, History: World, Anthropology, Psychology

Publication year 1940Genre Book, NonfictionTags Anthropology, Sociology

Publication year 1998Genre Novel, FictionThemes Society: Colonialism, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Identity: DisabilityTags Historical Fiction, Religion / Spirituality, Race / Racism, Disability, Anthropology

Publication year 1956Genre Book, NonfictionThemes Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Natural World: Appearance & RealityTags Religion / Spirituality, Philosophy, History: World, Anthropology, Psychology

Publication year 1996Genre Book, NonfictionThemes Identity: Indigenous, Life/Time: The Future, Life/Time: The Past, Natural World: Animals, Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Natural World: Climate, Natural World: Environment, Natural World: Flora/plants, Natural World: Objects, Natural World: Place, Natural World: Space & The Universe, Society: Community, Society: Globalization, Values/Ideas: Order & Chaos, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Values/Ideas: Science & TechnologyTags Philosophy, Science / Nature, Psychology, Religion / Spirituality, Anthropology

Publication year 2006Genre Novel, FictionThemes Values/Ideas: Science & Technology, Society: Politics & Government, Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Society: Community, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Society: WarTags Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Fantasy, Chinese Literature, Anthropology, Climate Change, Politics / Government, Science / Nature, Technology, History: Asian

Publication year 2009Genre Book, NonfictionThemes Society: CommunityTags Anthropology, Science / Nature, Technology

This study guide refers to the 2009 House of Anansi Press edition of Wade Davis’s The Wayfinders: Why Ancient Wisdom Matters in the Modern World. The Wayfinders collects a series of five Massey Lectures that Davis delivered in Canada in 2009. Davis is a Colombian-Canadian anthropologist and ethnobotanist, and the Explorer-in-Residence at the National Geographic Society. This position, as well as his long anthropological career, has allowed Davis to spend time with many of the... Read The Wayfinders Summary


Publication year 2021Genre Book, NonfictionThemes Natural World: Environment, Identity: Indigenous, Society: Colonialism, Society: Politics & GovernmentTags Science / Nature, Psychology, Health / Medicine, Addiction / Substance Abuse, Agriculture, Anthropology, Business / Economics, History: European, History: U.S., Politics / Government, History: World, Journalism, Religion / Spirituality