First published 2000
Patrick Tierney spent eleven years investigating the work of Napoleon Chagnon and other leading anthropologists who studied the Yanomami people in the remote jungles and highlands of Venezuela and Brazil during the 1960s. Tierney argues that these researchers fundamentally misrepresented the indigenous tribe they claimed to document. More seriously, he contends that the anthropologists exploited and harmed the very people they studied. The book presents a damning indictment of academic conduct and raises troubling questions about the ethics of anthropological fieldwork. However, Tierney's accusations have sparked intense debate within the scientific community. The National Academy of Sciences president issued a detailed rebuttal, pointing to what the Academy calls misleading and inaccurate information in Tierney's account, particularly regarding vaccine research and the work of deceased researchers. The controversy surrounding the book reflects deeper tensions about power, representation, and responsibility in cross-cultural research.
Genres: biography, history, social-science, anthropology, non-fiction, academic
Vibes: dark, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: academic-controversy, investigative-journalism
Setting: Venezuela, Brazil
Period: 1960s
Hardcover · W W Norton & Co Inc