Don Kulick’s new book, A Death in the Rainforest (Published by Algonquin Books on June 18), has received rapturous reviews; In Friday’s edition of The Wall Street Journal, Wade Davis described it as “perhaps the finest and most profound account of ethnographic fieldwork and discovery that has ever entered the anthropological literature”. You will find links to some of the reviews below:
- “One of the remarkable achievements of A Death in the Rainforest is that it generates affective engagement with difference, prompting the reader to care deeply about the people of Gapun, the death of their language, their irretrievably altered lives, and uncertain futures.”
— Jean Mitchell, Anthropologica 63.2 (2021), pp. 1-4. - “What’s Left Unsaid When a Language Dies”, Sophie Chao, SAPIENS Magazine.
- Finalist, 2020 Science in Society Journalism Awards
- “Anthropology at its best” Alessandro Duranti, Hau: Journal of Ethnographic Theory
- “I recommend that all anthropologists read this book” Martha Macintyre, TAJA:The Australian Journal of Anthropology
- “Kulick’s book is a tour de force then of accessible, humorous, and empathetic description, delivered in engaging and inclusive prose, and with a level of insight into both human foibles and human language change that make this book almost irresistible. I, along with others I have introduced it to, could not put it down”. James Leach, Hau: Journal of Ethnographic Theory
- “This is quite simply the best about language death and one of the best books about the encounter of an indigenous encounter with the West that I have ever read in my life” John McWhorter, podcast Lexicon Valley
- Jason Zasky in Failure magazine: http://failuremag.com/article/a-death-in-the-rainforest
- Wade Davis in The Wall Street Journal: Link to PDF file
- Lucinda Robb in The Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/as-a-language-dies-who-will-mourn-should-anyone/2019/08/08/82758330-9ccc-11e9-9ed4-c9089972ad5a_story.html
- National Geographic Magazine listed A Death in the Rainforest as one of this summer’s best travel books: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/lists/seasonal/books-we-cant-wait-to-read-this-summer/
- Publishers Weekly: https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-61620-904-9
- Library Journal: https://www.libraryjournal.com/?reviewDetail=a-death-in-the-rainforest-how-a-language-and-a-way-of-life-came-to-an-end-in-papua-new-guinea
- Time Magazine listed A Death in the Rainforest as one of the books You need to read this summer: http://time.com/5595668/best-books-summer-2019/
- Danielle McManus, Manhattan Book Review: https://manhattanbookreview.com/product/a-death-in-the-rainforest-how-language-and-a-way-of-life-came-to-an-end-in-papua-new-guinea/
- Kirkus Reviews: https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/don-kulick/a-death-in-the-rainforest/
