This remarkable book introduces us to four unforgettable Apache people, each of whom offers a different take on the significance of places in th... read full description
reviews
Nov 30, 2011
Alyson
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I was introduced to this book by the writer Rebecca Solnit. It's a remarkable volume, carefully assembled by Basso, who is clearly a brilliantly thoughtful ethnographer. Some of the conclusions Basso draws about landscape, community, place names and identity may seem self-evident to contemporary readers who harbor (increasingly)the desire to lead lives "connected" by something more than bytes and bites. But Basso is a social scientist...and a gifted listener. His Apache sources pre
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Aug 17, 2010
Brent
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I read this book in my Anthropology 101 class at BYU, one of my favorite classes.
Places have power. Feelings and thoughts can stay in places long after those who experienced them have moved on. Wherever I am, I love pondering about all the other people who have been there and what they felt and what they went through.
There's a residential neighborhood in Provo in the foothills of the Wasatch Mountains where all the streets are named after indigenous American tribes. I la More...
Places have power. Feelings and thoughts can stay in places long after those who experienced them have moved on. Wherever I am, I love pondering about all the other people who have been there and what they felt and what they went through.
There's a residential neighborhood in Provo in the foothills of the Wasatch Mountains where all the streets are named after indigenous American tribes. I la More...
Feb 06, 2009
Sam
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This is one of the greatest non-fiction books I've read. Basso's book is a wonderful exploration of the language of the Western Apache. He doesn't delve into the culture so much as the language, of which the historical narrative takes precedence in this book. If you have any interest in other cultures and languages, want to learn just how much one's language shapes the way one thinks, want to learn how the Apache "speak with names", how to "stalk with stories", and how wis
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Nov 24, 2010
Alessandra
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Modern Anthropologist Keith Basso's work focuses on the often overlooked and oversimplified relation of people and place. The Western Apache of Cibecue present a poignant example of the persistence of place in the American Indian narrative. The tribe uses descriptive "place-names", as Basso terms them, to serve multiple functions. For the Apache, and one could argue for people in general, making place is crucial in the construction of a social identity. This book was especially interes
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Jun 08, 2008
Stephen
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Wisdom Sits in Places is the name of a remarkable little book of linguistic ethnography about "landscape and language among the Western Apache." Written by rancher and professor Keith H. Basso, who had spent decades working with this group of Apache before composing this opus, the book is easy to overlook: file under boring academic anthropology. For anyone interested in gaining a greater appreciation for the diverse ways we humans think and act, both in and about this world, doing so
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Nov 21, 2010
Kim
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I was assigned this book for class and was stunned by the intense lessons this book delivered. The language is almost lyrical and in some spots I had to go back and re-read for content because I had become so engrossed with the music of the words. It expresses the differences between how the Apache tell history vs how we tell history. Made me really wish my history teachers had been Apache - maybe I would have learned something when I was younger!
Oct 27, 2009
Maura
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A fascinating and informative portrait of the relationship between land (place), storytelling, and history among the Western Apache. Recommended for anyone interested in Native American oral histories and/or Apache culture.
Basso does a fairly good job of using respectful language, but he occasionally slips and uses some extremely condescending or paternalistic phrasing.
Basso does a fairly good job of using respectful language, but he occasionally slips and uses some extremely condescending or paternalistic phrasing.
Nov 16, 2010
Jenny
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I loved the narrative sections. It brought life to what could have been a really dry read. After speaking with a linguist friend, I'm now a tad suspicious of some of Basso's conclusions, but I still took away a lot from this book about language, landscape, and narrative. I'm now interested in seeking out other books that discuss Native American narrative and literary traditions, particularly those that approach the subject from an anthropological perspective.
Oct 14, 2009
Linda
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Read this for a cultural anthropology class and loved it. What I took away from the book was a better understanding of how different cultures view the landscapes of their homes and how they fit into those landscapes. The way a people define or name their landmarks can relate directly to their world view.
Sep 20, 2010
Megan
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This was one of my favorite books from my grad school courses this summer. Basso writes beautifully and candidly about his missteps and accomplishments in learning about the roles of silence and place-names in Apache culture. This book did a great deal to shape my thinking about space.
May 23, 2010
Veek
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A poet-anthropologist comes to his senses - of people, place, time and their interwoven meanings - among elders of Cibeque, New Mexico, and fortunate readers may follow along. Perhaps the sparest, most elegant prose to grace a scholarly work.
May 22, 2010
Rachel
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Basso discusses the concept of place to the Western Apache, and how their elegant place-naming is an economical and incredibly forceful way of expressing sympathy, passing social judgment obliquely, and face-saving, among other uses. A delicately and beautifully written ethnography.
Jun 02, 2010
Heidi
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The most AMAZING ethnography I have ever read. Deals with Western Apache and their concept/ attachment to place. I absolutely loved this.
Jun 10, 2009
Wisdom Sits in Places: Landscape and Language Among the Western Apache by Keith H. Basso (1996)
Dec 22, 2008
Wisdom Sits in Places: Landscape and Language Among the Western Apache by Keith H. Basso (1996)
Dec 08, 2008
Chris
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Great look at the meaning behind place names in Western Apache culture.
Mar 01, 2009
Ren
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It is written for the academic world but was still accessible to me. Absolutely fascinating!
Mar 09, 2009
Lindsey
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This is one of the most beautiful books I have ever read, fiction or non-fiction.
Oct 13, 2009
Michelle
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This was incredibly interesting, actually. Parts I had trouble reading, but the all of the stories and the Apache concept of wisdom really fascinated me.
Recommended, if you're into enthnographies, haha.
Recommended, if you're into enthnographies, haha.
May 11, 2009
Darceylaine
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I read this with my Eco Study Group. The style alternates between accademic and re-tellings of conversations and stories. I think it may be my only 5 star non-fiction on GoodReads. I've decided a book has to blow my mind in some way to get 5 stars, and this surely did. I've been thinking a lot about "sense of Place' for the last couple of years, and this added a whole new layer.
Apr 27, 2007
Blair
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I read this as part of an "international relations" class analyzing eco-religious critiques of a globalizing world. I was fascinated by the descriptions of how places--landmarks--nature tied together generations living on this land, so that looking at a place is looking back in time, receiving the knowledge of who to be and how to act in that society.
Dec 22, 2007
Brianne
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This book is simply the best ethnology I have ever read - and I have read a lot of em. Basso describes the notion of place and human wisdom in such a loving and exact way. I originally had to read this for a cultural ecology class in college, but at times, I find myself digging it out again just to read through it. It is beautifully written.
Dec 21, 2008
Adrianna
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I definitely wouldn't have noticed all of Basso's points without my anthropology class, but I also did a lot of skimming. It really illuminated my perception of anthropology and linguistics.
Aug 02, 2007
Patricia Price -- who wrote Dry Places -- says that 1) this is one of the best books she has read, and 2) that I MUST read it.
I haven't done so, yet. But if you get to it, tell me how it is. I don't want to pass up the advice of someone for whom I have so much respect and admiration.
I haven't done so, yet. But if you get to it, tell me how it is. I don't want to pass up the advice of someone for whom I have so much respect and admiration.
Nov 07, 2008
Chandra
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I really enjoyed this reminder of the cultural significance places and names have, especially in the context of the Apache "dying language."
Jul 18, 2008
Ike
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Easily the finest writing of any ethnography. As much philosophy as anthropology. And if you don't like either, you still may enjoy it.
Jan 30, 2008
Amanda
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A wonderful book about the Apache concept of wisdom I read in an Anthropology class.
Feb 06, 2012
