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Why Ancient Wisdom Matters In The Modern World
House of Anansi Press
October 2009
On Sale: October 13, 2009
280 pages ISBN: 0887847668 EAN: 9780887847660 Paperback
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Non-Fiction History
Over the past decade, many of us have been alarmed to
learn of the rapidly accelerating extinction of our planet's
diverse flora and fauna. But how many of us know that our
human cultural diversity is also going extinct at a shocking
rate? Biologists estimate that 18% of mammals and 11% of
birds are threatened, while botanists anticipate the loss of
8% of flora. Meanwhile, of the 7,000 languages in the world
today, 50% will disappear in our lifetime. Languages are
merely the canaries in the coalmine: what of the poetry,
songs, knowledge, and ways of seeing encoded in these
disappearing voices?
In The Wayfinders,
acclaimed anthropologist Wade Davis offers a gripping
account of this urgent crisis. He leads us on a fascinating
tour through a handful of indigenous cultures and worldviews
while reminding us of the encroaching dangers posed by
unchecked globalization. An enlightening, awe-inspiring, and
cautionary look at vanishing cultures and languages from one
of the world's most celebrated and distinguished
anthropologists.
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