Encounters: World Treasures of the Library of Congress

This new volume, and its accompanying exhibition, presents The Library of Congress's unparalleled collections of books, pamphlets, manuscripts, music, maps, newspapers, and graphic arts as they record the comparative works of different societies and cultures. Among the major issues addressed both in the main illustrated presentation of over 130 objects, and in the Introduction by leading anthropologist, Laura Nader, is how different societies and cultures have viewed each other, and how they have handled and responded to each other's beliefs about, and approaches to understanding the world. In puzzling over these issues a broad range of subjects is covered, from the study of comparative legal systems and methods towards resolving disputes, to different family organizations and the comparative mindsets of the professional, artistic, and literary elites of different cultures.