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10 Great Books To Celebrate World Anthropology Day

So February 18th is World Anthropology Day, and as per usual, I wanted to share books with you that somehow, in someway are anthropological in nature. With that in mind, I picked a set of 10 great books to celebrate World Anthropology Day. Granted the day might be over, but it is never too late to learn more or read books, right?

Note that I am not an anthropologist (though the profession certainly intrigues me – every aspect of it) so maybe some books might not be a perfect fit. I did try to look at the categories/listings that Goodreads users and/or Amazon tracked them by, along with the fact that they do appear on other similar lists. Also, the books are as varied as they can be, so don’t be surprised if a picture book follows a textbook-ish book.

In all honesty, I am yet to read many of these books though most have been on one of my TBRs or the other for a long time. And while I tried to include all aspects of anthropology there is, I ended up exploring linguistic anthropology more than anything else, so many of the books lean towards that.

So here is my list of

10 Great Books To Celebrate World Anthropology Day

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Guns, Germs and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies

by Jared Diamond

Books To Celebrate World Anthropology Day = Guns, Germs and Steel

This book was one I got started on years ago and was totally into it when I had to return it to the library. For some reason, I never did check it again. Maybe it is time I did so, and move it from my Want to Read to my Read list.

 Book Depository   BookShop || IndieBound

Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind

by Yuval Noah Harari

I recently (? – is 3 months recent?) won the graphic version of it in a giveaway (thank you Dara – NotInJersey!); I am finally sitting down to read it. And loving loving it!

 Book Depository   BookShop || IndieBound

When We Became Humans: Our incredible evolutionary journey

by Michael Bright and Hannah Bailey

when we become humans -- Books To Celebrate World Anthropology Day

A fascinating look into evolution geared towards younger audiences, but based on what I have read so far, everyone will enjoy it regardless of their age.

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The Mother Tongue: English and How It Got That Way

by Bill Bryson

While I am not sure if this would be linguistic anthropology, this has been on my tbr and I truly enjoy reading Bryson, so here it is.

The Story of People: A first book about humankind

by Catherine Barr and Steve Williams, and Illustrations by Amy Husband 

Books To Celebrate World Anthropology Day

A book I am yet to read; but the blurb and what I saw of it so far have me intrigued.

Outliers: The Story of Success

by Malcolm Gladwell

A book I have listened to many times on audio (one of the two books I have actually), as well as read and enjoyed a couple of times. I also mentioned it a few times in the blog, but for some reason, never reviewed. Time for a re-read and review then.

 Book Depository   BookShop || IndieBound

Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You

by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X Kendi

OR

Stamped From the Beginning

by Ibram X. Kendi

Repeating words from an earlier post — I am yet to review Stamped but suffice to say that reading this meant I want to read more by both these authors. (Well, I had already read Antiracist Baby by Kendi earlier this year!!)

Stamped is actually an adaptation for younger readers – of Kendi’s Stamped From the Beginning, so you pick that instead if you wish.

 Book Depository   BookShop || IndieBound

Dinotopia, A Land Apart from Time

by Jared Diamond

This book is simply beautiful. The illustrations are brimming with imagination, detail and color, and take you on a tour of a world that you would love to live in – Dinotopia. I did find this on one anthropology list, and if you think it is far-fetched, then I can use the connection that the author is an anthropologist (he earned his degree in that field).

 Book Depository   BookShop || IndieBound

Slouching Towards Bethlehem: Essays

by Joan Didion

I read a couple of the essays in this brilliant collection, including Keeping a Notebook (reviewed here). I need to get to the rest of them soon, considering I now have the book.

 Book Depository   BookShop || IndieBound

The Gene: An Intimate History

by Siddhartha Mukherjee

The Gene 
Books To Celebrate World Anthropology Day

Siddhartha Mukherjee, along with Harari made it on my list of auto-buy authors even before I had read a single book by them. Truth be told, I am yet to read Mukherjee, but he still remains on that list.

More Lists to Check Out

Pin me

10 Interesting Books To Celebrate World Anthropology Day

And then, there are of course

Movies to Watch

And Now, the End Of This Post

Dear reader, have you read any of these Books To Celebrate World Anthropology Day? Your thoughts on them (if you have)? Which one are you tempted to read the most among these? Any recommendations for me – books and/or movies?

26 thoughts on “10 Great Books To Celebrate World Anthropology Day

  1. Hi Vidya,
    I also have Outliers in my Audio book collection.
    Just finished looking up the definition of Anthropology. Now I know why I could not pin down what branch of science it is. It is so broad, it is almost the study of anything about humans. That would rule out books about aliens, animals, fish and birds unless those books included interaction of the species with humans.
    Have fun and blog on!

  2. It’s good to know about Anthropology day Vidya! I think I might enjoy “When we became humans ” and “The story of people”. The title sounds interesting and will keep them in mind.

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