Book picks similar to
Corn is Our Blood: Culture & Ethnic Identity in a Contemporary Aztec Indian Village by Alan R. Sandstrom
mesoamerica
anthropology-primatology
politics-society
anthropology
Writing Up Qualitative Research
Harry F. Wolcott - 1990
Using lively examples from his and other researchers′ experiences, friendly, practical tips, and a warm, reflective writing style, this second edition has been completely updated and includes new features, such as:Chapter 4 on Linking Up: Provides readers with thoughtful guidelines as to how and where to use theory, what needs to be said about method, some thoughts about the traditional literature review (as well as how to decide whether or not to include this material!) Applications: Give readers the opportunity to put into practice some of Wolcott′s tips to improve or jump-start their own writing Bulleted Reviews: Highlight the key points to remember from each chapterRead the book that will not only enable you to better tell the story of your research in the article, monograph, or dissertation you need to write but also help you to incorporate writing into the essential role it must play in a professional research career.
Manthropology
Peter Mcallister - 2009
Spanning continents and centuries, it is an in-depth look into the history and science of manliness. From speed and strength, to beauty and sex appeal, to bravado and wit, it examines how man today compares to his masculine ancestors.
Peter McAllister set out to rebut the claim that man today is suffering from feminization and emasculation. He planned to use his skills as a paleoanthropologist and journalist to write a book demonstrating unequivocally that man today is a triumph---the result of a hard-fought evolutionary struggle toward greatness.
As you will see, he failed. In nearly every category of manliness, modern man turned out to be not just matched, but bested, by his ancestors. Stung, McAllister embarked on a new mission. If his book couldn’t be a testament to modern male achievement, he decided, it would be a record of his failures.
Manthropology, then, is a globe-spanning tour of the science of masculinity. It kicks off in Ice Age France, where a biomechanical analysis demonstrates that La Ferrassie 2, a Neanderthal woman discovered in the early 1900s, would cream 2004 World Arm Wrestling Federation champion Alexey Voyevoda in an arm wrestle. Then it moves on to medieval Serbia, showing how Slavic guslar poets (who were famously able to repeat a two thousand-line verse after just one hearing) would have destroyed Curtis Jackson, aka 50 Cent, in a battle rap. Finally, it takes the reader to the steaming jungles of modern equatorial Africa, where Aka Pygmy men are such super-dads, they even grow breasts to suckle their children. Now, that’s commitment.
For modern man, the results of these investigations aren’t always pretty. But in its look at the history of men, Manthropology is unfailingly smart, informative, surprising, and entertaining.
***
HOW DOES MODERN MAN STACK UP?
Russian arm wrestling champion Alexey Voyevoda has a twenty-two-inch bicep and has curled more than two hundred and fifty pounds---with just one arm. But could he stand up in an arm wrestling match with an average Neanderthal male? Or, for that matter, a female? (p. 10)
***
Today’s Ultimate Fighters compete in a sport where bouts routinely end with an unconscious loser splayed out on a blood-soaked canvas. But what would a match in the Octagon look like next to the Pankration bouts of the Ancient Greeks: a battleground or a playground? (p. 77)
***
A modern army goes into battle with state-of-the-art technology and centuries of strategical insight. But for sheer determination, could they have bested Nero’s legions, who marched nearly two marathons a day for six days straight---each legionary carrying hundred-pound packs? (p. 99)
***
There’s philological evidence that suggests Homer may not have written the Iliad; he may have rapped it. If 50 Cent had to face Homer in a rap battle, would he come out on top? (p. 160)
***
Wilt Chamberlain is known for scoring on more than just the court. He claimed to have had as many as twenty thousand sexual encounters in his lifetime. Such conquest could only be matched by one of the world’s greatest conquerors: There is the evidence that approximately 32 million people are descended from Genghis Khan. (p. 248)
The Conquest of New Spain
Bernal Díaz del Castillo
Bernal Díaz del Castillo, himself a soldier under Cortes, presents a fascinatingly detailed description of the Spanish landing in Mexico in 1520, their amazement at the city, the exploitation of the natives for gold and other treasures, the expulsion and flight of the Spaniards, their regrouping and eventual capture of the Aztec capital. The Conquest of New Spain has a compelling immediacy that brings the past to life and offers a unique eyewitness view of the conquest of one of the greatest civilizations in the New World.J. M. Cohen’s clear, fluent translation is supplemented by an introduction that illuminates the life and memories of Bernal Díaz and explores changing views of the conquest, and there are also maps of the conquered territory.
Citadel
Jordan Wylie - 2017
Jordan Wylie, a young man from a tough area of Blackpool where kids like him often went off the rails, chose a life in the army. He saw service in Iraq and learned to cope with the horrors he'd witnessed, then suffered an injury that blocked any chance of climbing up the military ladder. But an old army colleague suggested he join a security team on a tanker in Yemen. Ex-servicemen were offered dazzling salaries and `James Bond' lifestyles between jobs protecting the super-tankers carrying consumer goods to Europe and the US. However, for the men tempted to go, the price they paid was the claustrophobia and isolation of life on board and the ever-present possibility of death skimming towards them across the vast, lonely blue sea. Jordan was one of these men. In Citadel, he writes the first account of these dangerous years from someone 'at the front'. A young soldier from the backstreets of Blackpool, he was determined to make the most of his life, but unsure of the way forward. To his surprise, he found his answers in the perilous waters of 'Pirate Alley'.
Saptarshi - The Seven Supreme Sages (Amar Chitra Katha)
Anant Pai
In each manavantara Brahma creates seven exceptional sages from his mind, who represent supreme knowledge and righteousness. It is their duty to see that law and order is maintained in the Universe. We live in the Vaivasvata Manavantara. Amar Chitra Katha has captured stories from the inspiring and remarkable lives of the seven sages chosen to represent the current manavantara. Atri was known for his honesty and for his devotion. He was married to Anasuya who was a very pious woman and capable of great deeds. Atri's life spanned many yugas. He played a role in the events of the Ramayana as well as the Mahabharata. Vasishtha was the voice of wisdom and honesty. He was the kulguru to the Solar Dynasty and tutored Rama and his brothers. Kashyapa is considered the father of all living beings. Brahma gave him the task of creating life for swargaloka, bhooloka and patal-loka.The origin of all creatures can be traced back to Kashyapa and his wives. The proud King Kaushika had a troubled relationship with Sage Vasishtha. He wanted to become a Brahmarshi just like him. The story tells of his transformation into the accomplished sage, Vishwamitra. Gautama and his wife, Ahalya, overcame the mistrust and insults of the people of Brahmagiri and brought Ganga to the parched land. Jamadagni, who was a proficient student of the Vedas, was chosen by Vishnu to be his father during his avatar as Parashurama. Bharadwaja's thirst for knowledge was so great that he prayed to Indra for a long life so he had enough time to learn. With Indra's blessing he spread the knowledge he had learnt, around the world. The seven sages are said to reside in the heavens as stars of the Saptarshi Mandal.
The Comanche Captivity of Sarah Ann Horn
James A. Crutchfield - 2015
After spending several months in New York City, the family signed up for a journey to the Republic of Texas where they could homestead and eventually acquire 137 free acres for their efforts. Soon growing discontented with, not only the land, but also the management of the colony in which they had settled, the Horns decided to return to England. But, it was not to be. Attacked and captured by a party of Comanche Indians, Sarah Ann was faced with challenges and realities the like of which she never could have dreamed. Over a period of fifteen months of Comanche captivity, she and her captors rode endlessly across the Texas plains until finally she was purchased out of bondage and befriended by traders in New Mexico. This is the true story of a remarkable woman who endured an unimaginable amount of suffering and pain in her short lifetime.
Wild life in the Far West; Personal Adventures of a Border Mountain Man (1872)
James Hobbs - 1976
He became a Texas Ranger, and fought as an American in the Mexican-American War, and roamed the Southwest with other mountain men such as Kit Carson. He belongs to that class of pioneers and trappers, now extinct, of which the famed Kit Carson, who was for many years the companion of the author, has been considered the most perfect type. In addition to his experiences as a hunter and trapper, we have an account of his life as a prisoner among the powerful and warlike Comanches, his adventures as a trader in Mexico, his services as interpreter and guide, under Doniphan, in our war with Mexico, and with the Liberals in the Franco-Mexican war as Captain of artillery, as well as his experience in mining in the days of the “ forty-niners” in California, and elsewhere. Probably no man then living passed through so varied and exciting a life as this one. Hobbs writes: "I was nearly full grown when I found an excellent chance to join a fur company that had just started out from St. Louis, under the lead of Charles Bent, and were going out to a fort and trading-post called Bent’s Fort, some three hundred miles south of Pike’s Peak on Big Arkansas river. The party consisted of about sixty men. The more prominent hunters were Charles Bent, Guesso Chauteau, William Savery, and two noted Indian trappers named Shawnee Spiebuck, and Shawnee Jake." On this expedition, he was captured by the Camanches, with whom he spent four years, marrying the daughter of "Old Wolf". Four years later, was ransomed by Charles Bent, who paid Old Wolf when the Indians had come to trade at Bent's Fort. It was during this time at Bent's Fort that Hobbs went out trapping with Kit Carson, and he became his lifelong friend. Hobbs became one the most famous mountain men, trappers, and fighter, partly due to his years of training in the ways of the wilderness with the Comanche. Hobbs writes: "IN the foregoing pages I have endeavored to give an account of a portion of my adventures in a life of more than usual peril and excitement. I was induced to publish this account by the earnest recommendation of many friends. It has been written out, as I have had time, entirely from memory, as I never kept a diary of events, never thinking that I should publish my experiences. For this reason, I have been unable to give exact dates in all cases; but as the object I had in view, was not to publish a history of the country where I have been, but to relate personal adventures, this will not prove, I hope, any drawback to the interest of the reader. As far as the narrative relates to my transactions, I have confined myself to the literal facts. "In looking back over my life, I find that although I have not, perhaps, always obeyed the Golden Rule, yet it is a great satisfaction to me to think of the numbers of my fellow beings I have been instrumental in saving from death and misery at the hands of savages, and from the horrors of starvation. "And now, that my labors in this direction are completed, I shall probably retire to my California home, and devote myself to stock raising. Hoping that this narrative may prove of interest to the reader, I will say -—GOOD-BYE." Originally published in 1872; reformatted for the Kindle; may contain an occasional imperfection; original spellings have been kept in place.
50 WITTY TALES OF AKBAR AND BIRBAL: STORIES HELPS TO INCREASE YOUR KIDS LOGICAL THINKING
Maharshi - 2014
Children’s thinking capabilities would be increased because of the smart answers of the Minister Birbal.Each of the 50 stories contains a moral , a logic to think. Exchanges by Akbar and Birbal have become part of Indian folk tradition. These tales are also an integral part of Indian culture. Akbar and Birbal are extremely popular even in the modern age. This book is a compiled version of 50 good stories,illustrated with images as well. 50 Chapters are - A. AKBAR AND BIRBAL INTRODUCTION B. HOW AKBAR MET BIRBAL C. HOW MAHESH DAS BECAME BIRBAL 01. ANSWER FOR QUESTION IS A QUESTION 02. WHO IS A DONKEY? 03. WHY IS THE CAMEL’S NECK CROOKED? 04. BIRBAL’S VISIT TO HEAVEN 05. BIRBAL CAUGHT THE THIEF 06.I AM YOUR SERVANT, MY LORD 07. HOW MANY CROWS IN THE KINGDOM? 08. BIRBAL SOLVES THE PROBLEM 09. FLOWERS FOR AKBAR 10. BIRBAL’S SWEET REPLY 11. BIRBAL IDENTIFIES THE GUEST 12. TIT-BITS (BETWEEN AKBAR AND BIRBAL) 13. A LITTLE LESSER AND LITTLE MORE 14. BIRBAL’S BEAUTIFUL EXPLANATION 15.THE NOBLEST BEGGAR 16.FAST HORSE 17.THE LOYAL GARDENER 18. BIRBAL BETRAYS HIMSELF 19.RED HOT TEST 20.FOUR FOOLS 21.MILK OF AN OX 22.JUST ONE QUESTION 23.THE PARROT NEITHER EATS, NOR DRINKS 24.NEITHER HERE, NOR THERE 25. BIRBAL’S HELP TO ASTROLOGER 26.HEAVY BURDEN 27. BIRBAL PASSES THE TEST 28.THE MAGICAL DONKEY 29.PICKLED CLUE 30.HUNTING AND THE DOWRY 31. BIRBAL AND AKBAR’S RING 32.AKBAR’S DREAM 33. BIRBAL HELPS A PUNDIT 34. BIRBAL’S KHICHADEE 35.THE POET RAAYADAAS 36.THE THREE QUESTIONS 37.FEAR IS THE KEY 38.PROTECTION OF THE FOOT-MARK OF AN ELEPHANT 39. BIRBAL, THE PROBLEM SOLVER 40.WHO IS THE REAL KING? 41.WHO IS FOOLED? 42. BIRBAL, THE CHILD 43. BIRBAL’S LIST OF BLINDS 44.THE BLIND SAINT. REALLY, IS HE? 45.THE SHARP SHIELD & SWORD 46.THE LOST RING 47.WHO IS THE REAL MOTHER? 48.A MERCHANT AND THE STOLEN TREASURE 49. BIRBAL STRIKES AGAIN 50. THE LINGUIST’S CHALLENGE CHAPTER - 05 BIRBAL CAUGHT THE THIEF It so happened once that once a rich merchant's house was robbed. The merchant suspected that the thief was one of his servants. He tried to find out the thief was on his own, but failed. So he went to Birbal and explained the whole incident in detail. Birbal went to his house and assembled all of his servants in the front hall and asked that who stole the merchant's things. Everybody denied. Birbal thought for a moment, then gave a stick of equal length to all the servants of the merchant and said to them that “The stick of the real thief will be long by two inches tomorrow”. All the servants should be present here again tomorrow with their sticks. All the servants went to their homes and gathered again at the same place the next day. Birbal asked them to show him their sticks. One of the servants had his stick shorter by two inches. Birbal said, "This is your thief, merchant.
That is how I became A SANYASI
Khemlata Negi - 2020
We all are connected. Are you a dreamer? Do you dream to be a successful person? Do you know sometimes the pursuit of monetary success could take you away from you? Have you felt the pain of separation from your loved ones? Have you felt lost some point in your life? This is a story about two people who lose the real treasures of their life in the pursuit of materialistic success and gratification. Gautam changes his life by following his dreams. But along the way, his life transforms into a living nightmare that he resolves to finish. Diksha is a young, brilliant, and headstrong person. Her dedication to be a perfect and sincere daughter, student, and employee turns her into an automaton. When both of them lose their last hope, something inexplicable happens in their life, which eventually sets them on the path of Sanyas. Can you give up your vain success to build an ever-lasting peace and tranquility within you? Can you stand tall and fight back your fears? Can you be a Sanyasi? Gear up to experience a mystical adventure! It’s a story about dreams, relationships, betrayal, courage, separation, and repentance. About the Author: Khemlata Negi is a novelist, poet, and educationist based in Chandigarh, India. Her first novel Hope: the journey to life was published in the year 2016. She has also written a collection of poetry Seasons of life and a book on yoga asana Stay Healthy. She loves reading, travelling, photography, yoga, and spending time in nature. She believes storytelling is one of the most effective methods to inspire and move the masses.
The Shape of Time: Remarks on the History of Things
George Kubler - 1962
George Kubler draws upon new insights in fields such as anthropology and linguistics and replaces the notion of style with the idea of a linked succession of works distributed in time as recognizably early and late versions of the same action. The result is a view of historical sequence aligned on continuous change more than upon the ecstatic concept of style--the usual basis for conventional histories of art.
Race and Slavery in the Middle East: An Historical Enquiry
Bernard Lewis - 1990
With twenty four rare and intriguing full-color illustrations, this fascinating study describes the Middle East's culture of slavery and the evolution of racial prejudice. Lewis shows that while Islam clearly teaches non-discrimination, prejudice often won out over pious sentiments, and he explores in detail how Africans were treated, depicted, and thought of from late antiquity to the twentieth century.
The Complete Temples of Ancient Egypt
Richard H. Wilkinson - 2000
This book traces their development from earliest times through their period of glory and ultimate decline to their rediscovery and study in modern times. All of Egypt's surviving temples--from the gargantuan temple of Amun at Karnak to minuscule shrines such as the oasis Oracle of Siwa, where Alexander went to hear himself proclaimed god--are discussed and illustrated with factfiles, photographs, plans, and specially commissioned perspective views. * "Houses of Eternity" considers the historical origin and development of Egyptian temples, describing their role in ancient Egyptian society, their later Christian and Muslim use, and their modern rediscovery. * "Buildings Fit for Gods" looks at how the temples were built, decorated, expanded--and sometimes destroyed. * "Worlds Within Worlds" examines each part of the sacred structures in detail--from the massive pylon towers, colossal statues, and obelisks that fronted many temples to the darkened sanctuaries and mysterious crypts of their inner depths. * "Between Heaven and Earth" discusses the temple's relationship to the pantheon of Egypt's gods, along with the roles and rituals of pharaohs and priests, and the sacred rites and festivals enacted there. * "Temples of Gods and Kings" is the most extensive catalogue of Egyptian temples yet published in one volume and serves as a guide to the ancient sites. The book's format follows the highly successful, visual style of the other volumes in Thames Hudson's best-selling "Complete" series, creating both an authoritative reference book and an entertaining guide for everyone fascinated by the eternal mysteries of ancient Egypt.
Daily Life of the Aztecs
Jacques Soustelle - 1955
A famed scholar evokes the life of this complex culture on the eve of its extinction, when the Spanish arrived and conquered them--imprisoning Montezuma and strangling Atahualpa. "It is, without question, the most brilliant, the clearest and most readable portrayal of Aztec life available in any language."--The Observer.
Firsting and Lasting: Writing Indians out of Existence in New England
Jean M. O'Brien - 2010
Ranging from pamphlets to multivolume treatments, these narratives shared a preoccupation with establishing the region as the cradle of an Anglo-Saxon nation and the center of a modern American culture. They also insisted, often in mournful tones, that New England’s original inhabitants, the Indians, had become extinct, even though many Indians still lived in the very towns being chronicled. In Firsting and Lasting, Jean M. O’Brien argues that local histories became a primary means by which European Americans asserted their own modernity while denying it to Indian peoples. Erasing and then memorializing Indian peoples also served a more pragmatic colonial goal: refuting Indian claims to land and rights. Drawing on more than six hundred local histories from Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island written between 1820 and 1880, as well as censuses, monuments, and accounts of historical pageants and commemorations, O’Brien explores how these narratives inculcated the myth of Indian extinction, a myth that has stubbornly remained in the American consciousness. In order to convince themselves that the Indians had vanished despite their continued presence, O’Brien finds that local historians and their readers embraced notions of racial purity rooted in the century’s scientific racism and saw living Indians as “mixed” and therefore no longer truly Indian. Adaptation to modern life on the part of Indian peoples was used as further evidence of their demise. Indians did not—and have not—accepted this effacement, and O’Brien details how Indians have resisted their erasure through narratives of their own. These debates and the rich and surprising history uncovered in O’Brien’s work continue to have a profound influence on discourses about race and indigenous rights.
Escape from Dubai
Herve Jaubert - 2009
From a life of luxury in the opulent city of Dubai to promised ruination, Jaubert tells a tale of espionage and escape that rivals any best selling novel on the market. Immersed in a luxury submarine business, Jaubert was hired as CEO by Dubai World to develop and design miniature subs for the wealthy. Once problems developed within the business, Herve Jaubert became the scapegoat of government officials and found himself ensnared in a web of police threats, extortion, human rights abuses and coercion. With no chance to make it through their biased legal system, Jaubert planned the escape of his life.