How Scientists and Journalists Devastated the Amazon. Not exactly light reading, and Tierney definitely has a bone to pick. This is an important book, however, as it details the crimes that have been committed against the Yanomamo Indians of Venezuela and Brazil. It is clear that Tierney respects the Yanomamo and wants to correct some misconceptions about their social conditions. The poor treatment of the Indians of the Amazon River Region—Tierney might call it their genocide—can be attributed largely to the devastations that came with gold mines and mining in general, but anthropologists of supremely dubious ethics that worked in the area also have to be held accountable for their actions. Tierney focuses keenly on the influence of Napoleon Chagnon, and this book certainly colored my opinion of Chagnon and of his methods with a jet black crayon. Stomach-turning stuff at times, but also eye-opening.
Heidi J. De Vries
How Scientists and Journalists Devastated the Amazon. Not exactly light reading, and Tierney definitely has a bone to pick. This is an important book, however, as it details the crimes that have been committed against the Yanomamo Indians of Venezuela and Brazil. It is clear that Tierney respects the Yanomamo and wants to correct some misconceptions about their social conditions. The poor treatment of the Indians of the Amazon River Region—Tierney might call it their genocide—can be attributed largely to the devastations that came with gold mines and mining in general, but anthropologists of supremely dubious ethics that worked in the area also have to be held accountable for their actions. Tierney focuses keenly on the influence of Napoleon Chagnon, and this book certainly colored my opinion of Chagnon and of his methods with a jet black crayon. Stomach-turning stuff at times, but also eye-opening.
