Product Description

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2178417 in Books
• Published on: 2007-09-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 312 pages

Review
"The biography''s strength is in explicating White''s views in the context of his personal experiences and his engagement in politics, both ideological and academic. Peace avoids adulation, despite sympathy to White''s lifelong struggles; the book sagely illustrates a controversial figure in American anthropology. It will interest political scientists and historians of intellectual ideas as well as anthropologists."-Choice (Choice )

"An illuminating portrait of a complex figure whose ideas were ahead of their time-one whose critical role in the recent history of anthropology has been too little appreciated as other theoretical currents have gained sway."-American Ethnologist (American Ethnologist )

From the Inside Flap
Few figures in modern American anthropology have been more controversial or influential than Leslie A. White (1900–1975). Between the early 1940s and mid-1960s, White’s work was widely discussed, and he was among the most frequently cited American anthropologists in the world. After writing several respected ethnographic works about the Pueblo Indians, White broke ranks with anthropologists who favored such cultural histories and began to radically rethink American anthropology. As his political interest in socialism grew, he revitalized the concept of cultural evolution and reinvigorated comparative studies of culture. His strident political beliefs, radical interpretive vision, and often combative nature earned him enemies inside and outside the academy. His trip to the Soviet Union and participation in the Socialist Labor Party brought him to the attention of the FBI during the height of the Cold War, and near-legendary scholarly and political conflicts surrounded him at the University of Michigan.

Placing White’s life and work in historic context, William J. Peace documents the broad sociopolitical influences that affected his career, including many aspects of White’s life that are largely unknown, such as the reasons he became antagonistic toward Boasian anthropology. In so doing, Peace sheds light on what made White such a colorful figure as well as his enduring contributions to modern anthropology.

About the Author

Customer Reviews

Fascinating biography
Author Peace has done a masterful job in exploring the work of this eccentric and complicated anthropoligist.
His work and personality are examined and startling facts sensitively revealed.
It is well written, informative and shows a true understanding of the man's personality and brillaint theories.
Well worth reading!
Kathy Boncuk

Towards ending the history of anthropology coverup
In Peace's preface he writes of anthropology's historians Geo Stocking and Dick Handler "failures to consider the political beliefs and actions" of the anthropologists they chronicle--a charge that well summarizes the central devastating shortcoming of the history of anthropology for the past 30 years. This biography goes a long ways towards suggesting how anthropologists can reintegrate politics back into their disciplinary histories. Peace builds an interesting historical account of White and establishes the deep impact of Marx and socialism on White's life and theory.

Greatly Appreciated!
My gratitude to Dr. Peace for writing this biography of Leslie A. White is tremendous. I am not a professional in the social sciences, although I discovered Leslie White's writings in the early 1970's while attending college. To say they intrigued me is an understatement. On and off through my whole life I studied White's writings, and followed up on many of his sources, such as Emile Durkheim.

Not being a professional in the social sciences, and being so 'taken in' by White's theories and rhetoric, I wondered considerably about how White's writings were received in his own field, that is anthropology. In my questioning of various professors I learned that White was 'a Marxist', and left unsaid was the supposition that 'therefore - should be disregarded'. This never set well with me, as I was totally convinced of the validity of his arguements, irregardless of their ultimate intellectual source.

Basically, I read this book from cover to cover in two or three days over the Thanksgiving holiday of 2007. It answered all my questions about Leslie White. It portrays the picture of a brilliant man pursuing in single minded determination his desire to understand the human condition. I'd very highly recommend this book to anyone like myself who wishes to understand and learn about this brilliant man. Thank you very much Dr. Peace!