Dancing Skeletons: Life and Death in West Africa

I had to read this ethnography for my anthropology class at Ball State. We had already read other ethnographies, and, since I am not an anthropology major, I found them difficult to get through. They were quite dry. What a nice change this book provided! I could hardly put it down! I think that the author accomplished something great with this study. By writing it in this way, she makes it accessible to those who aren't necessarily anthropologists or students majoring in the discipline. I believe that books like this can help to put a face on the problem of malnutrition in Africa. It held my interest and I learned a lot. More ethnographies should be written like this one.

I am not an anthropologist but a tourist who has visited Africa and is interested in learning more about African people. I found Katherine Dettwyler's book an excellent introduction to how real people live and deal with their lives in Africa. Dettwyler tells us how mothers and children interact, the way families view their children, what day-to-day life in rural Africa is really like. I found it fascinating especially because Dettwyler talks honestly about her reactions to what she found. This book shouldn't be restricted to anthropoogy students.

I had to read this book, and a less then enjoyeable textbook, for a cultural anthropolgy course I just got done taking. This book presents various concepts important to anthropological field work in an interesting and an understandable way. Often times reading the examples found in Dettwyler's book, helped me understand some of the concepts "defined" in my other text. I personaly recomend it to anyone taking a course concering cultural anthropolgy or anyone wondering how anthropologists do field work in foreign places.

As I have taken several classes from Dr. Dettwyler at Texas A & M University, I have a bit of a different view on this ethnography. She is an extremly interesting woman, and her passion for her field is amazing. This shines through in Dancing Skeletons, and I feel that despite it's "scientific" value it is a great source for understanding a culture. This is what Anthropology is all about.