Daniel Everett took his family to convert the Pirahas (pronounced pee-da-HAN), a remote people of the Amazonian jungle whose language no outsider had yet been able to understand. They encountered malaria, snakes, jaguars, spiders, insects, and a plot to kill them as they slept. But Everett gradually gained entry to this curious culture, and gave up trying to Christianise it. Along the way he discovered a language which disproved the most established tenets of linguistics.
Daniel Everett was born in California. He lived for many years in the Amazon jungle and conducted research on over a dozen indigenous languages of Brazil. He has published on sound structure, grammar, meaning, culture and language. He has been the subject of endless controversy in academic circles and is currently Professor of Linguistics at Illinois State University.
Dan Everett has written an excellent book. First, it is a very
powerful autobiographical account of his stay with the Piraha in
the jungles of the Amazon basin. Second, it is a brilliant piece of
ethnographical description of life among the Piraha. And third, and
perhaps most important in the long run, his data and his
conclusions about the language of the Piraha run dead counter to
the prevailing orthodoxy in linguistics. If he is right, he will
permanently change our conception of human language
*John Searle, Slusser Professor of Philosophy, University of
California, Berkeley*
Dan Everett is the most interesting man I have ever met. This story
about his life among the Pirahas is a fascinating read. His
observations and claims about the culture and language of the
Pirahas are astounding. Whether or not all of his hypotheses turn
out to be correct, Everett has forced many researchers to
re-evaluate basic assumptions about the relationship among culture,
language and cognition. I strongly recommend the book
*Edward Gibson, Professor of Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts
Institute of Technology*
A remarkable and often painful story of anthropological
endeavour
*Bookseller*
Astonishing... a warm tribute to this people's unique way of seeing
the world... full of wonder while conveying the fragility of the
Piraha way
*Waterstone's Books Quarterly*
Fascinating
*Kirkus*
Fascinating and candid
*Publisher's Weekly*
Unforgettable
*Booklist*
This is an astonishing book: a work of exploration, into the most
distant place and language, but also a revelation of the way
language is shaped by thought and circumstance
*The Times*
Rigorous
*Scotland on Sunday*
Destined to become a classic of popular enthnography
*Independent*
[A] remarkable book. It is written with an immediacy even a Piraha
might envy, and its conjunction of physical and intellectual
adventure is irresistible
*Sunday Times*
A fascinating physical and intellectual adventure
*Conde Nast Traveller*
Everett writes simply and persuasively about language... A
fascinating thesis... his courage and conviction should give
linguists pause for thought
*Observer*
An extraordinary work of will and perseverance... A groundbreaking
and beautifully realised study
*Sunday Business Post*
Irresistible account of a missionay's intriguing discoveries about
language
*Sunday Times*
Part Swiss Family Robinson, part Robinson Crusoe, it's one the
greatest stories you'll ever read
*Evening Herald*
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