Shadows in the Sun: Travels to Landscapes of Spirit and Desire

by Wade Davis

Book Overview

Wade Davis has been called "a rare combination of scientist, scholar, poet and passionate defender of all of life's diversity." In Shadows in the Sun, he brings all of those gifts to bear on a... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1559633549
• ISBN13: 9781559633543
• Release Date: September 1998
• Publisher: Island Press
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 1.02 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.5" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

A Little Bit of Everywhere

How tough are we, really? When I was twelve I can assure you that I was not killing polar bears and whales; but Wade Davis introduces the reader to just such an Inuit boy. The boy is special in that he carries on a tradition of providing his community with sustenance; but he is one of many such boys and men in his community. Shadows in the Sun is filled with cultural activities that seem bizzare, terrifying, beautifully exotic, outrageous, and downright strange to those of us whose culture is surrounded by electronics, mass media, and mass prefabrication. It is a beautifully written book that samples human diversity as a threatened and disappearing art form.

An Eyeopener for a College Freshman

A package arrived from home several weeks into my first semester of school. In it, my dad had included a copy of SHADOWS IN THE SUN. I am toying with the idea of adding Anthropology as a second major to my current Chemistry. After reading Davis's book, I was nothing short of enlightening. It's strange to think that such an awakening can occur after experiencing another culture vicariously through a stranger, but his essays were enough for me to name him my current science hero. He writes with a passion that is unparalled by many scientists. Complicated details, from the biochemical make-up of toad secretions to the effects of drinking ayahuasca, are written in a way my eighty-one year old great-grandmother could understand them. An eventual goal of mine is to do science writing, and Davis writes just as I aspire to. Candidly and comically, he personifies the robotesque stereotype many people must have of scientists. Nothing stuffy or arrogant about these essays. Davis is the first scientist I have ever read who has admitted in print that he has been baffled by the discoveries research has led him to. No "I knew I was right" attitude, and only vivid descriptions that make the book impossible to put down. It allowed me to look beyond my own ethnocentricities and taste the tiniest sample of the importance of environment in other cultures. Nothing short of amazing and, although I am still young, I imagine this book will remain one of my favorites for quite a while.

Every teenager in America should read this.

I read "Shadows" while in Mexico on vacation after hearing his interview on NPR and was delighted with it. Davis shows how it's possible to combine academics, environmentalism, travel and adventure into a life that's so much more interesting than anything shown on TV or in video games. Here's somebody who really went out and got a life.

Enchanting tales of distant lands; Excellent anthopolgy

This book is an excellent way to introduce anyone to the joys of cultural anthropolgy. It exams various aspects of different cultures in each chapter, thereby making it easy to read as each chapter presents a different culture. Davis is the ultimate story-teller, though his tone is that of science as opposed to the average traveler tales. Unfortauntely, most scientists with something to present do not present it in a way that is pleasant to read; Davis is the exception. This book is good reading if you wish to experiance forgein lands; it will remind you of those childhood stories of far of places. This book introduces thoughts on the paradox of the delightful differences yet beautiful unity of lands and their people. It makes the land come alive. Scholars will appreciate this book as informative relaxing reading. It is a fantastic way to introduce a student to the joys of understand people around the world. Children would delighted in most of the stories; the concepts are presented in such a way that even they can grasp the meaning. As a high school student trying to settle on a major which will entice my interest and challege me for the rest of my life, Davis has managed to help me find my quest. Anthropogy opens in this book. The thoughts on the importance of having a land have been abandonned by the philosophical community, so it is good to see a scientist stepping out to remind us that there is something to having a homeland.