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Works and Lives

The Anthropologist as Author

Clifford Geertz author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:John Wiley and Sons Ltd

Published:17th Aug '89

Should be back in stock very soon

Works and Lives cover

This major work, now available in paperback, by one of the world's leading anthropologists discusses the style, imagery and metaphor of the great anthropologists, thereby developing Geertz's claim that doing good anthropology is like writing good literature.

"America's most renowned cultural anthropologist . . . analyses the literary forms of several anthropological notables - Bronislaw Malinowski, Ruth Benedict, Claude Levi-Strauss, E. E. Evans-Pritchard, and others . . . The appreciation of Geertz's brilliant writing is much like the appreciation of a brilliant metaphor." New York Times Book Review .
"The racy colloquialisms, the quick-fire prose, sharp glancing allusions, aphorism and tropes of `Works and Lives' force the reader on at such a brisk pace that, for some, reading it may seem like watching a speeded-up sequence of an old film . . . Those who can be expected to take this book in their stride will find it a lively and original critical comparison of the work of four remarkable anthropologists." Times Literary Supplement .
"Geertz is a brilliant writer - obviously, he is also a brilliant thinker - endlessly witty and quotable." Boston Globe .

ISBN: 9780745607597

Dimensions: 250mm x 100mm x 15mm

Weight: 227g

168 pages