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Ishi in Two Worlds: A Biography of the Last Wild Indian in North America Editorial Review:
The life story of Ishi, the last Yahi Indian, lone survivor of an exterminated tribe, is unique in the annals of North American anthropology. For more than forty years, Theodora Kroeber's biography has captivated readers. Now recent advances in technology make it possible to return to print the 1976 deluxe edition, filled with plates and historic photographs that enhance Ishi's story and bring it to life. Ishi stumbled into the twentieth century on the morning of August 29, 1911, when, desperate with hunger and terrified of the white murderers of his family, he was found in the corral of a slaughter house near Oroville, California. Finally identified as a Yahi by an anthropologist, Ishi was brought to San Francisco by Professor T. T. Waterman and lived there the rest of his life under the care and protection of Alfred Kroeber and the staff of the University of California's Museum of Anthropology. Karl Kroeber adds an informative tribute to the text, describing how the book came to be written and how Theodora Kroeber's approach to the project was a product of both her era and her special personal insight and empathy. Illustrations: 32 color illustrations, 108 b/w photographs
Customer Reviews:
Ishi in Two Worlds: A Biography of the Last Wild Indian in North America
Ishi in Two Worlds: A Biography of the Last Wild Indian in North America
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001B48CS6/ref=cm_cr_rev_prod_title
Outstanding!
This should be required reading not only for everyone in California, but also the entire U.S.
No one should graduate from middle school without having read this well written and easily understandable saga.
An American Tragedy
Countless native Americans were hounded to death by settlers from back east, in the name of "Manifest Destiny." This is the story of one who survived--barely. Ishi's people were all dead, mostly from genocide, when he stumbled into the white man's world in 1911, fearful and half dead from hunger and exhaustion. He knew no English, only Stone Age survival skills. He was enough of a novelty to find help and acceptance, becoming a kind of resident freak in an anthropology museum in San Francisco. The Wild Man of Oroville, people called him. Naturally he was perplexed by the strange new world he found himself in, and some people treated him like a child. But you've got to admire him. He was a survivor, and his way of life, unlike ours, was sustainable. Did he have more to teach us than we to teach him? A sad tale that all Americans should read, because Ishi's tragedy was repeated so many times in our history. This book is a scholarly work, dry and academic at times, so don't read it for entertainment.
One of my ten best books
Where was the Pulitzer committee the year this biography appeared? Mrs. Kroeber captured a difficult subject with historical and technical command and emotional and human depth. One comes away with a sense that if Ishi was representative of primitive man, civilized man does not compare all that better. I disagree with the review below that Drs. Kroeber, Waterman, etc. used Ishi somewhat demeaningly. Ishi had an ethic of self-sufficiency. His museum work enabled him to earn board and room plus a sufficient salary while working in his own field of expertise. In this way, he and his friends left an immense contribution to anthropology, one that Mrs. Kroeber has described in one of the most compelling biographies any adult or child will ever read.
historic
this book, published at the beginning of the sixties, continues to affirm human dignity in the account of the life and fate of its subject. the writing is without parallel and the story of 'ishi', necessarily affecting all of humanity, must be universally known. this book is authentic and truthful and manifestly deserving of reissue.
"Ishi In Two Worlds..."
There is much in the history of the United States that we do NOT hear about in school. (The "victor" writes "history".) For example, how we treated the Native Americans. In the earlest part of the twentieth century, in places in this country, Native Americans (human beings) were still being treated as wild animals and hunted for sport on weekends. (Successful "hunters" received a monetary "bounty'" for scalps!)
Is the only good Indian (Native American) a dead one? Is there such a thing as "Manifest Destiny" or "The White Man's Burden"? I see NO evidence that a "Stone Age" culture was respected at all. Every--every--culture that I have investigated has an explanation for the origin (creation?) of human beings. Did the "Great Spirit" really blow smoke across sticks to "create" man? Did it take six "days"? Did "creation" take place at 10:00 AM on a date in April six thousand years ago? Are "scientists" fabricators? Are dinosaur skeletons fakes? Were those stupid "primitives" not smart enough to build the pyramids in Egypt or in the Western hemisphere? Were pyramids built by "extraterrestials"? Is there such a thing as "independent invention"?
Does the word "illiterate" mean "stupid"? (In our present culture, the word does seem to imply stupidity.) Although I wasn't there at the time, I am reliably informed that Charlemagne, as an adult, taught himself to read, but that he never did get the "hang" of writing. Some exceedingly intelligent persons--even in nomadic cultures--did not read or write.
Our house guests have ALWAYs received a copy of ISHI. Theodora Kroeber's book(s) about ISHI give insight into our treatment of Native Americans. In retrospect, it shows a skilled appreciation for a completely different culture. Ishi would have been outstanding in any culture. The book "Ishi In Two Worlds..." is, itself, outstanding. I recommend it. JS
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