Savages

Rating:
Summary: A bit implausible
Review: Although this book gives a clear warning about the effects of "Civilized world"'s greed for oil, it is somewhat too much fictionalized to be fully credible. It's a pity, because the basic idea is good.

Rating:
Summary: A reaction from an anthropologist
Review: Although this book has been criticized by people with a background in anthropology, as a practicing anthropologist (with research expertise in media studies), I beg to disagree. Certainly, the book has weaknesses, and the fieldwork it is based on was flawed. Yet it presents a balanced view of Amazon peoples -- if one reads carefully one finds that they are NOT merely portrayed as "noble savages." Moreover, the book has a chance of reaching a FAR greater audience than most anthropology works ever do. I aspire to write as compellingly as Kane; it's about time anthropology had more of an impact on the world. I have done research and writing that is critical of journalists and journalism, but I'm aware that anthropological fieldwork is far from perfect, either. Instead of taking pot shots at a nuanced, in-depth view of the geo-political problems of indigenous peoples, we should celebrate the possibilities of collaborating with journalists as careful and sensitive as Kane.

Rating:
Summary: A wonderful book! Makes you feel you know the Huarani.
Review: Before reading this book, I knew nothing about the Amazon and wasn't that interested. Now, even though it's been half a year since I finished the book, I find myself thinking about Moi, Enquiri, Judith, and the rest. Joe Kane also did a good job explaining the very complicated situation with the oil companies. I was inspired to hit the library for more books on the Amazon and the people there. It's also inspired me to check in with Rainforest Action Network and write a few letters. One of my favorite books ever.

Rating:
Summary: Another good one by Joe Kane
Review: Have you read Kane's Running the Amazon? Here's another good one. It even won the Bay Area Book Reviewers Assoc Award in 1995. Kane travels to Ecuador to live for a while with the Huaorani tribal people as their Stone Age culture bumps against the 20th Century.
The Huaorani eventually befriended Kane, but at the beginning, it was just as likely that they might murder him, as they had fairly recently killed a missionary and several others they considered enemies. Something about Kane made them feel comfortable - lucky for him.
Kane intersperses magical vignettes of tribal life with historical and sociological information in a way that makes his book imminently readable by ordinary readers like me as well as my scholars and sociologists.
It's a good one.

Rating:
Summary: Another good one by Joe Kane
Review: Have you read Kane's Running the Amazon? Here's another good one. It even won the Bay Area Book Reviewers Assoc Award in 1995. Kane travels to Ecuador to live for a while with the Huaorani tribal people as their Stone Age culture bumps against the 20th Century.
The Huaorani eventually befriended Kane, but at the beginning, it was just as likely that they might murder him, as they had fairly recently killed a missionary and several others they considered enemies. Something about Kane made them feel comfortable - lucky for him.
Kane intersperses magical vignettes of tribal life with historical and sociological information in a way that makes his book imminently readable by ordinary readers like me as well as my scholars and sociologists.
It's a good one.

Rating:
Summary: Impressive and powerful work
Review: I appreciate the way he writes about the Huorani as neither saints nor sinners, simply people looking to save a way of life that is worth saving. It is both depressing and inspiring. An excellent companion piece to Daniels Quinn's "MY ISHMAEL" as it outlines many topics he discusses in that book, even more than those of Ishmael.

Rating:
Summary: Objective & informative
Review: I enjoyed this book very much because it gave a great overview of a tribe that was being affected by oil industries. The destruction of the rainforest to have a few dqys of gas is not worth it. I just visited the rainforest in Ecuador, and it was definitely something to preserve. A great movie with the same story is "Trinkets & Beads." It is a bit exspensive to rent, and very hard to find, but extremely worth it. Read the book, then see this documentary.

Rating:
Summary: One of the best books I've ever read!
Review: I first read this book about two years ago and have since given copies as gifts to friends and have passed my own copy about to many colleagues. I work in the oil industry and I believe that this book is a MUST READ for all foreign workers in the Amazon region. My field of work involves protecting the interests of the local people and the health of the environment and I can assure the previous reviewer that while the oil companies have much to answer for historically that there is a small army of us working on the inside and who have found Savages to be one of the best books around. Joe Kane writes in journalistic style presenting events as they unfolded and he sheds light on several issues relating to foreign activity in developing countries that are seldom thought about by those who participate in the "invasion". Mr Kane's writing had me in fits of laughter at times and at other times I was in tears. By the end of the book I felt that I almost knew the people whose lives were discussed and I certainly closed the cover with a new understanding and questions that I had not asked myself before. Anyone contemplating a trip to the jungle of Ecuador, or other Amazonian nation, should make a point of reading this book. It is factual, interesting and tells a real life drama that describes the beginning of what will probably be the final days of the isolated people of the Amazon. It will be up to you as the reader to form an opinion on the situation as Kane doesn't do it for you. He does however raise the interesting question that may not be answered easily - what rights do isolated people have to remain isolated and completely unaffected by the development of the world? Read Savages for yourself and see if you can answer that question.

Rating:
Summary: Kane's style is enchanting; his subject matter fascinating
Review: In Savages, Kane conveys the dire importance of understanding and respecting the traditional practices of the Huaorani Indians of Ecuador. Kane examines through personal experience their struggle to maintain identity, land, and dignity in the face of oil companies, missionaries, and economic progress. The author demonstrates journalistic reporting at its very best and assures the reader a sincere and responsible account of the matters at hand. This book should be read by anyone interested in the future of humankind

Rating:
Summary: Great tale of the Indians, slow tale of their political fate
Review: Joe Kane rings true. His clear intelligent writing style brings the world of the Huaorani alive. He lived and travelled with them and gained their respect. He brings alive their toughness, compassion, and respect for their environment. It is as close to a another people as the reader is likely to get. But Kane wanted to tell the larger story, the story of the economic and politcal forces arrayed against the Huaorani. At this task he fails. He didn't fail in the facts or in bringing the story to its inevitable conclusion. He fails because he bores us. The first priority of art is entertainment. And his book became dull in long sections dealing with local and international politics and money. We know money corrupts and power wins in the end. Teach us something we don't know- entertain us with more stories and insights into the Huaorani