A uniquely revealing biography of two eminent twentieth century American women. Close friends for much of their lives, Ruth Benedict and Margaret M...
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Dec 17, 2009
Djinnjer
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I wanted to like this book. And I did learn biographical information about Margaret Mead and Ruth Benedict, and a great deal of historical information about America in the early twentieth century, particularly between the world wars. Unfortunately, the sexual relationship between the two alluded to on the cover is not well supported in the text - the primary supporting source is a poem, Banner's interpretation of which left me scratching my head. Mead and Benedict's other romantic entanglemen
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Apr 10, 2011
El
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After reading the disappointment that was Derek Freeman's Margaret Mead and the Heretic: The Making and Unmaking of an Anthropological Myth, I decided to try this other bio I've had on my shelf for a while to see if Banner's opinion was any different. It was. And it was written better, had better information, and covered more ground. So take that, Freeman!
To be fair, Banner's biography was not solely about Margaret Mead and her time spent in Samoa. Her focus was on Margaret Mead More...
To be fair, Banner's biography was not solely about Margaret Mead and her time spent in Samoa. Her focus was on Margaret Mead More...
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Nov 19, 2011
Emalee
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I thought that reading about Margaret Mead was so fascinating. I have always thought she was interesting, but did not know until I found this book that she was at all queer. It seems clear from her choices over her lifetime that she was truly bisexual (using today's terminology) but that she struggled with the definition & experience of her sexuality. I felt a fair amount of sympathy and empathy with her vascillations, even these many decades later. Ruth Benedict was also an interesting char
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Apr 01, 2010
Sandy
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This is the biography of two famous female anthropologists, mostly in the years from 1900-1940. The book really draws you in, using a gossipy style with lots of fascinating quotes from both Mead’s & Benedict’s unpublished letters, diaries, etc., as well as letters from Mead’s three husbands, family members, college roommates, and many other famous anthropologists. It is very well-researched, and explains the background to many wild stories I heard as a grad student in anthropology.
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Aug 01, 2009
Eliz
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Once an anthro major, always an anthro major -- and who could resist the riveting drama of well-known academics, their lesbian love affair, and dollops of biographical information on anyone and everyone they ever came into contact with ever, which also uses the word ‘eidetic’ multiple times.
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