Tristes Tropiques

Autobiography, travelogue, confession, "tristes tropiques' was first published in France in 1955. In it, Levi-Strauss breaks away from his specialized works on structural anthropology, and shows how his ideas grew out of his own personal experience, first as a young professor of philosophy in South America before the Second World War, then as a Jewish exile during the German occupation of France, and later as the great anthropologist of the post-war years. Newly translated from the revised French edition of 1968, this is the first complete edition of the book to appear in English. It covers various journeys to and from South America; life on board ship, particularly a refugee ship in the last war; the atmosphere of French and Brazilian intellectual circles; the Asian disregard for human life as a warning against over-population in Europe; the differing essences of European, South American, Buddhist and Muslim cultures; and finally, the vital years of fieldwork with the Caduveo, Bororo, Nambikwara and Tupi-Kawahib tribes. Descriptions of the countries alternate with anecdotes and chronicling of contrasting tribal organizations.