Books like Argonauts of the Western Pacific; An Account of Native Enterprise and Adventure in the Archipelagoes of Melanesian New Guinea.

Cows, Pigs, Wars, and Witches

by Marvin Harris • 1974

Cow worship, pork bans, witch hunts: each solved a practical problem no one admitted existed.

3.92

5k+

🍖 Food Taboos 🌿 Cultural Ecology 💰 Economic Anthropology 🕯️ Ritual And Sacrifice ⚔️ Origins Of War

Cows, Pigs, Wars, and Witches 94%

Cow worship, pork bans, witch hunts: each solved a practical problem no one admitted existed.

by Marvin Harris 1974

3.92

5k+ ratings

🍖 Food Taboos 🌿 Cultural Ecology 💰 Economic Anthropology 🕯️ Ritual And Sacrifice ⚔️ Origins Of War

Civilized to Death

by Christopher Ryan • 2018

Agriculture made us sicker, more unequal, and less free. The hunter-gatherer way holds the clues.

4.12

5k+

🏹 Hunter-Gatherer Studies 🚫 Myth Of Progress ⚠️ Civilization's Costs 🧬 Evolutionary Mismatch 🤝 Forager Egalitarianism

Civilized to Death 92%

Agriculture made us sicker, more unequal, and less free. The hunter-gatherer way holds the clues.

by Christopher Ryan 2018

4.12

5k+ ratings

🏹 Hunter-Gatherer Studies 🚫 Myth Of Progress ⚠️ Civilization's Costs 🧬 Evolutionary Mismatch 🤝 Forager Egalitarianism

Predictable Results in Unpredictable Times

by Stephen R. Covey • 2009

The West built its politics on a mistake: that humans are naturally selfish animals.

3.72

186

🏛️ Political Anthropology 🌍 Western Critique 🧠 Human Nature Debate 🌿 Nature Vs Culture 👥 Kinship Systems

Predictable Results in Unpredictable Times Summary

Predictable Results in Unpredictable Times 92%

The West built its politics on a mistake: that humans are naturally selfish animals.

by Stephen R. Covey 2009

3.72

186 ratings

🏛️ Political Anthropology 🌍 Western Critique 🧠 Human Nature Debate 🌿 Nature Vs Culture 👥 Kinship Systems

The Weirdest People in the World

by Joseph Henrich • 2020

How a medieval church's war on cousin marriage made the West individualistic, analytical, and rich.

4.13

4k+

🧠 Cultural Psychology 🦴 Evolutionary Anthropology 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Kinship And Social Structure 🧪 Cross-Cultural Experiments 🔄 Cultural Evolution Theory

The Weirdest People in the World Summary

The Weirdest People in the World 92%

How a medieval church's war on cousin marriage made the West individualistic, analytical, and rich.

by Joseph Henrich 2020

4.13

4k+ ratings

🧠 Cultural Psychology 🦴 Evolutionary Anthropology 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Kinship And Social Structure 🧪 Cross-Cultural Experiments 🔄 Cultural Evolution Theory

Why Nothing Works

by Marvin Harris • 1981

An anthropologist finds that broken toasters, inflation, and cults share a single cause.

3.76

264

🏛️ Cultural Anthropology 🇺🇸 American Society 📖 Cultural Criticism 📊 Political Economy 🏪 Service Economy

Why Nothing Works 92%

An anthropologist finds that broken toasters, inflation, and cults share a single cause.

by Marvin Harris 1981

3.76

264 ratings

🏛️ Cultural Anthropology 🇺🇸 American Society 📖 Cultural Criticism 📊 Political Economy 🏪 Service Economy

The Philosophy of Money

by Georg Simmel • 1900

Before coins, money was already an idea: that value is a relationship, not a substance.

4.04

426

💡 Economic Philosophy 🪙 Sociology Of Money 📜 Monetary History 🧠 Economic Psychology 📚 Classical Sociology

The Philosophy of Money 91%

Before coins, money was already an idea: that value is a relationship, not a substance.

by Georg Simmel 1900

4.04

426 ratings

💡 Economic Philosophy 🪙 Sociology Of Money 📜 Monetary History 🧠 Economic Psychology 📚 Classical Sociology

Anthro-Vision

by Gillian Tett • 2021

Wall Street's models did not see 2008 coming. Anthropology did. Here is how.

4.01

1k+

🏢 Corporate Anthropology 🏛️ Organizational Culture 👁️ Cultural Blind Spots 🌐 Cultural Intelligence 💰 Financial Anthropology

Anthro-Vision 91%

Wall Street's models did not see 2008 coming. Anthropology did. Here is how.

by Gillian Tett 2021

4.01

1k+ ratings

🏢 Corporate Anthropology 🏛️ Organizational Culture 👁️ Cultural Blind Spots 🌐 Cultural Intelligence 💰 Financial Anthropology

Sacred Economics

by Charles Eisenstein • 2011

Money is a story. Our version programs scarcity, demands infinite growth, and hoards wealth.

4.21

2k+

🏛 Heterodox Economics 🎁 Gift Economies 🌳 Commons And Enclosures ⏳ Post-Growth Economics 🕊 Spiritual Ecology

Sacred Economics 91%

Money is a story. Our version programs scarcity, demands infinite growth, and hoards wealth.

by Charles Eisenstein 2011

4.21

2k+ ratings

🏛 Heterodox Economics 🎁 Gift Economies 🌳 Commons And Enclosures ⏳ Post-Growth Economics 🕊 Spiritual Ecology

The Dawn of Everything

by David Graeber • 2021

The story of human progress was built to bury indigenous challenges to European society.

4.19

27k+

🌍 Big History 💡 Intellectual History ✊🏽 Decolonizing History 🗣️ Indigenous Philosophy 🏴 Anarchist Anthropology

The Dawn of Everything 91%

The story of human progress was built to bury indigenous challenges to European society.

by David Graeber 2021

4.19

27k+ ratings

🌍 Big History 💡 Intellectual History ✊🏽 Decolonizing History 🗣️ Indigenous Philosophy 🏴 Anarchist Anthropology

The World Until Yesterday

by Jared Diamond • 2012

What hunter-gatherers knew about raising children, avoiding danger, and ending feuds we forgot.

3.78

11k+

🏕️ Traditional Societies 👶 Child Rearing ⚠️ Risk Perception 🤝 Restorative Justice 🛡️ Traditional Warfare

The World Until Yesterday 91%

What hunter-gatherers knew about raising children, avoiding danger, and ending feuds we forgot.

by Jared Diamond 2012

3.78

11k+ ratings

🏕️ Traditional Societies 👶 Child Rearing ⚠️ Risk Perception 🤝 Restorative Justice 🛡️ Traditional Warfare

The Cosmic Serpent

by Jeremy Narby • 1998

A Stanford anthropologist argues Amazonian shamans see their own DNA as twin luminous serpents.

4.17

8k+

🌿 Ethnobotany 🍄 Psychedelics 🪶 Indigenous Knowledge 🐍 Comparative Mythology 🔬 Anthropology Of Science

The Cosmic Serpent 91%

A Stanford anthropologist argues Amazonian shamans see their own DNA as twin luminous serpents.

by Jeremy Narby 1998

4.17

8k+ ratings

🌿 Ethnobotany 🍄 Psychedelics 🪶 Indigenous Knowledge 🐍 Comparative Mythology 🔬 Anthropology Of Science

Beyond Money

by Anitra Nelson • 2022

Money is not a neutral tool. It is a growth engine incompatible with a living planet.

2.96

🏛️ Postcapitalism 📉 Degrowth 🤝 Commoning 🪙 Money Critique 🗳️ Direct Democracy

Beyond Money 90%

Money is not a neutral tool. It is a growth engine incompatible with a living planet.

by Anitra Nelson 2022

2.96

24 ratings

🏛️ Postcapitalism 📉 Degrowth 🤝 Commoning 🪙 Money Critique 🗳️ Direct Democracy

Trust and Market Institutions in Africa

by Kingsley Obi Omeihe • 2023

Why Africa's entrepreneurs lean on chiefs, imams, and cousins instead of contracts.

🌍 African Enterprise 📊 Institutional Economics 🤝 Trust And Business 🏛️ Indigenous Institutions 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Kinship Networks

Trust and Market Institutions in Africa Summary

Trust and Market Institutions in Africa 90%

Why Africa's entrepreneurs lean on chiefs, imams, and cousins instead of contracts.

by Kingsley Obi Omeihe 2023

🌍 African Enterprise 📊 Institutional Economics 🤝 Trust And Business 🏛️ Indigenous Institutions 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Kinship Networks

A History of the World in 6 Glasses

by Tom Standage • 2005

Civilization's biggest leaps came in a glass. The story of humanity told through six drinks.

3.81

34k+

🍽️ Food History 📦 Commodity History 🎭 Cultural History 🚢 History Of Trade 🏺 Material Culture

A History of the World in 6 Glasses Summary

A History of the World in 6 Glasses 90%

Civilization's biggest leaps came in a glass. The story of humanity told through six drinks.

by Tom Standage 2005

3.81

34k+ ratings

🍽️ Food History 📦 Commodity History 🎭 Cultural History 🚢 History Of Trade 🏺 Material Culture

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