Millennium: Tribal Wisdom and the Modern World

David Maybury Lewis gives us an insider-look at the indigenous worlds we know little to nothing about. The pictures are vivid and breathtaking. I would recommend this for anyone in the anthropology field, or anyone who has a keen interest in various tribes of the world.

Living in the modern world, many of us are disconnected from nature; even many of the natural forests and parks modern people visit have been sanitized for human visitation. As such, we consider those who live "in nature" to be wild and uncultured. This book proves quite the opposite; some of the richest cultures that exist are those that live "in nature". David Maybury-Lewis traveled the world to visit native tribes that still lived in nature, and examined their cultures. He brings these societies to life with beautiful photographs and wonderful descriptions. Thru these descriptions, he shows how people in different parts of the world learned to live with nature, to accomodate themselves to it, and to respect it. Likewise, he shows how these societies have learned to create stable, self-sustaining societies that do not exhaust their natural resources. This book is a companion to the PBS television show of the same name. Though I have never seen the show, reading this book now makes me want to. I highly recommend this book.

This is an awesome book. I am not an anthropologist and so cannot comment on its research methods etc. I can, however, attest that this book articulated a strongly post-colonial viewpoint and made me think deeply about the way we live in "developed" countries. The anthropological information is constructed around Maybury-Lewis's story of living with the Xavante people, and this biographical aspect of the book's construction helps to engage readers further with the ideological orientation of the text. I loved the photographs, the inserts about various historical writings on anthropological issues. My favourite part of the book is when David and his family witness a "log race" whilst living with the Xavante - we witness the beauty of a life lived without pointless competition and egotism. Maybury-Lewis' book is one of my favourite resources and I re-read it regularly for spiritual and intellectual respite.