Anthropologist: Scientist of the People
Gr 5-8-A stunning photo-essay about the life and work of Hurtado, an anthropologist who has been studying the Ach‚ people in Paraguay for 15 years. The well-organized, logical text intertwines the information about these hunter-gatherers and the changes in their society with insight into the anthropologist's methods of observation, data collection, and analysis. Unfamiliar terms are effortlessly explained. The large, full-color photographs sometimes fill an entire page and show individuals engaged in daily activities. There are also a couple of maps (without a scale or compass rose). Batten gently explains that there are many reasons for studying other cultures. Her respect for the work of Hurtado is evident as is her concern for the future of the Ach‚. This book is an excellent choice for booktalking and it will fill requests for assignment material on careers, women's history month, introductory anthropology, and the peoples of South America. Reluctant older readers will be enticed by the photos. Students who enjoy this title may also be interested in Joan Mark's Margaret Mead (Oxford, 2001), which offers a more complete life and education of a female anthropologist, and Jan Reynolds's Amazon Basin (Harcourt, 1993), a photo exploration of the life of the Yanomama people of the Amazon region.Dona J. Helmer, College Gate School Library, Anchorage, AKCopyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.