Transforming Cape Town: Volume 19

I used this ethnography for a 200 level anthropology course taught to a general audience. The book is rich in detail, but not organized as clearly or smoothly as it could/should be. Besteman's reflections on the anthropological process, and her own hesitations and development as an anthropologist were very useful in the context of our class. She left students wishing anthropologists could have the prominence of politicians in setting social policy, clearly a message she would hope students might carry away. One African American student who had spent a month in South Africa himself liked the book, and the way it discussed Americans in SA. I found myself wishing for less jumping around in the book, and more ethnographic detail about the three organizations she profiles BRIEFLY at the end of the book. I'm glad I read it, glad I taught it this semester, but unsure if I will use it again.