Book Review: Raising Children: Surprising Insights from Other Cultures by David F. Lancy

Raising Children: Surprising Insights from Other Cultures By David F. Lancy

The title is a little misleading.  One would think this is a book on how to raise your child.  The fact is, it is and it isn’t.  

Raising Children: Surprising Insights from Other Cultures by David F. Lancy could be a good supplemental read for an anthropology class.

It could also be a helpful read for expectant parents or new parents.  

Lancy compares and contrasts different cultures and their approach to child care. He does not give specific “how to” advice.  He merely tells us how things work in different cultures and allows his readers to draw their own conclusions.

We give it all five stars. We think that Raising Children is an excellent read.  The book is not overly simple and yet it is not a dry, academic read either.

Raising Children: Surprising Insights from Other Cultures by David F. Lancy would make an excellent gift for that budding anthropologist on your list AND intelligent new or expectant parents.

This would make an excellent companion read with A World of Babies: Imagined Childcare Guides for Eight Societies by Alma Gottlieb and Judy DeLoache.

We were sent a complimentary copy of this book.  We are under no obligation to write any review, positive or negative.

We are disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.

Notice: This post contains affiliate links. If you click a link and make a purchase, we may financially benefit from your transaction, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Please be sure to visit David over at Random Thoughts and Observations.
I respond to all comments on this blog, ideally within 24 hours.  Please check back here for a response to your comment.  Thank you!
Please subscribe to David's YouTube Channel. Thanks!

Book Review: Catching Fire: How Cooking Made Us Human By Richard Wrangham

Catching Fire: How Cooking Made Us Human

By Richard Wrangham

This book was suggested to us by our daughter after our recent review of The Genetics of Health. She thought, if we liked that book, we would like Catching Fire: How Cooking Made Us Human by Richard Wrangham.

This book is very well-researched. It is packed with information that the average person will find very interesting and eye opening. We give it all five stars.

Many college students will be assigned Catching Fire and will probably relegate it to the “Read it Later” pile. They may even put it in the “Too long, didn’t read” pile. They will be missing out on a lot of interesting reading.

We suggest that anyone who wants to know more about how diet evolved, how nutritionists determine how many calories are in food, or how we got certain gender roles when it comes to household duties, read this book.  You will be glad you did.

Our daughter had Catching Fire in her personal library. It had been required reading at her university.

We are disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.

Notice: This post contains affiliate links. If you click a link and make a purchase, we may financially benefit from your transaction, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Please be sure to visit David over at Random Thoughts and Observations.

I respond to all comments on this blog, ideally within 24 hours.  Please check back here for a response to your comment.  Thank you!
 
Please subscribe to David's YouTube Channel. Thanks!

Book Review: A World of Babies

A World of Babies is unlike most other books we have ever read.  We believe it is probably meant to be a supplemental text for an anthropology course.  However, it is an interesting read just by itself.

The idea is that the book contains different case studies that are reported via fictional childcare manuals.

We found most of these to be very interesting and informative.  The book goes into a great deal of detail in some cases and the stories that are told are very believable and fun. However, it appeared to us that the last manual had an agenda the author was attempting to communicate to the reader.

Each section starts out with a little background information regarding the region and some of its history.  Then, sometimes we are given a fictitious biography of the alleged manual writer.  Finally the writer, or in some cases writers, of the manual will write as if giving childcare advice.

We can see that those wishing to learn more about cultures in other areas of the world will find this book very helpful.  With the exception of the last section, the book appears to be written in a very neutral tone recording everyday life in the area.

If you wish to learn more about different cultures, some you may have never heard of, A World of Babies is a good source of information.

FTC Required Notice:
We, David and Suzanne, were given a review copy of this book by the publisher without cost or obligation. Our policy on all reviews is to give our honest opinion of the book.  Neither one of us is an anthropologist, so we cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information contained in this book.
 


Please be sure to visit David over at Random Thoughts and Observations.  

I respond to all comments on this blog, ideally within 24 hours.  Please check back here for a response to your comment.  Thank you!
 
Please subscribe to David's YouTube Channel. Thanks!