Shamanism, Colonialism, and the Wild Man: A Study in Terror and Healing

by Michael Taussig

Book Overview

Working with the image of the Indian shaman as Wild Man, Taussig reveals not the magic of the shaman but that of the politicizing fictions creating the effect of the real.

"This extraordinary book . . . will encourage ever more critical and creative explorations."--Fernando Coronil, I]American Journal of Sociology /I]

"Taussig has brought a formidable collection of data from arcane literary, journalistic, and biographical sources to...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0226790134
• ISBN13: 9780226790138
• Release Date: December 1991
• Publisher: University of Chicago Press
• Length: 538 Pages
• Weight: 1.69 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.0" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Difficult, but worth the effort.

Michael Taussig takes a stance towards "terrorism" not common in today's world. By trying to trace the roots of this phenomenon, he brings to light many explanations and understandings many of us fail to realize, only because we have not come across them before. I give this book four stars instead of five simply because it is a difficult read, but if you are interested in what we, today, call "terrorism" and are willing to take the time to plunge into this book, then it will certainly be worth your while.