-- Hobart M. Van Deusen, Natural History

New Guinea is a violent and exotic place, both in the dramatic contrasts of its landscape and in the primitive cultures of some of its peoples. Read describes both landscape and people... and also provides an introspective view of himself and his relationships with the Gahuku... -- Philip Lewis Chicago Tribune An extraordinarily vivid insight into the life and character of a series of natives living in the highlands of northeastern New Guinea -- Harry L. Shapiro The New York Times Book review An experiment in ethnography that gains a special lucidity by being fine literature. -- William Davenport Science Read happens to be an artist as well as a scientist... He has a touch of the poet-visionary-mystic, blended with passion and a gift for prose. -- Edmund Fuller The Wall Street Journal

Kenneth E. Read was Professor and Chairman of the Department of Anthropology at the University of Washington, Seattle.

Introduction 1. The Village 2. Makis 3. Asemo 4. The Age Mates 5. Tarova 6. Zaho and Goluwaizo Conclusion