We, the Alien: An Introduction to Cultural Anthropology

I teach cultural anthropology to undergraduates. I have seen a lot of textbooks on this subject. Bohannan's text is different from all the others. In my opinion, the difference lies in the intent behind the writing. All the other authors intend to tell students about what anthropologists do and what anthropologists have learned. Bohannan intends to present questions and observations for students to ponder. The others present findings. His book presents the possibility for insight and personal growth - something everyone needs, regardless of whether they want to "be" an anthropologist. I would recommend this book not only to students of anthropology, but also to anyone who wants to explore what it means and can mean to be human.

This book was the main text for a cultural anthro correspondence course I took through the University of California, Berkeley in 1997-1998.The book is about 350 pages, 8x11 format, black and white, no color. I would rate the typography and lay-out as average to somewhat below average. Graphics are simple block diagrams. Text is dense but easy on the eyes. The book is organized around the following broad topics: people, kinship, power, meaning, context, and has 15 chapters.I enjoyed reading the book. Bohannan has a conversational, clear writing style that keeps the book from being dry and scholastic. The scope of the book is excellent. He covers a wide variety of topics very thoroughly, The book is punctuated with side-bars titled "We the Alien". They contain examples of parts of our own culture that illustrate the topics in the book--and do it in a very surprising way.His goal in writing the book is to use other cultures to make us much more aware of our own. He accomplishes this very well. Lots of thought-provoking material.