by Wade Davis
First published 2009
Wade Davis examines how diverse cultures answer the question of what it means to be human and alive. The anthropologist and National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence takes readers across continents to document indigenous knowledge systems. He sails with Polynesian navigators whose forebears reached Pacific islands ten centuries before Christ. He visits Amazon descendants of the Peoples of the Anaconda, a lost civilization. In the Andes, he learns how communities view the earth as a living entity. Australian Aboriginal guides share Dreamtime philosophy, the worldview of the first humans to leave Africa. A Buddhist wisdom hero in Nepal emerges from forty-five years of retreat. Borneo's final rain forest nomads fight for survival. Davis argues that preserving this cultural diversity represents a central challenge for humanity. These knowledge systems form a vast archive of human expertise and imagination that risks disappearing forever.
Genres: travel, anthropology, non-fiction, cultural, cultural-studies
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: documentary, exploration, informative
Setting: Africa, Amazon, Andes, Australia, Borneo, Nepal, Pacific, Polynesia
Period: Ancient, Contemporary
262 pages · Paperback · House of Anansi Press