Born to Run, by Christopher McDougall
I didn’t think it was possible that a book existed that would actually make me want to run. This is the book. Did I start running after I read it? No. But if you are at all inclined to run and you need some motivation – read this book. If you already are a runner – read this book. The anthropology major in me loved traveling through inhospitable terrain to meet the Tarahumara Indians of Mexico, a people who possess seemingly super human abilities for distance running.
Don't Sleep There Are Snakes: Life and Language in the Amazonian Jungle, by Daniel L. Everett
This book combines ethnography and linguistics with a man’s story of life with the Pirahã. I was hesitant at the outset of this book because Everett initiates a relationship with the Pirahã as a missionary. His purpose is to learn the language, create a written version, and translate the Bible in order to convert the tribe. That is a very different goal than an ethnographic or linguistic study of a culture and language. Through this story, Everett loses his faith, his family, and ultimately claims that the Piraha don’t possess the concepts of numbers or time. This challenges a fundamental basis of linguistic theory. I’m still not sure how I feel about this book or its author, and not in the way that encourages me to recommend it.
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