WAffluence without Abundance: The Disappearing World of the Bushmen is a book by anthropologist James Suzman on the Bushmen of southern Africa based on his 25 years of experience in the field.
WThe Alphabet Versus the Goddess: The Conflict Between Word and Image is a work of critical theory by American surgeon Leonard Shlain, published by Viking Press in 1998. Shlain argues that learning written language, especially alphabetic language, alters human brain function in a way that emphasizes linear thinking over holistic thinking.
WThe Egyptian hieroglyphic text Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphs: A Practical Guide is one of the modern primers on the Egyptian language hieroglyphs, from the late 20th to early 21st century.
WAncient Futures: Lessons from Ladakh for a Globalizing World, originally published with the subtitle Learning From Ladakh, is a book by Helena Norberg-Hodge. It was first published in 1991.
WThe Ape and the Sushi Master is a popular science book by Frans de Waal. It is an overview of animal behavior and psychology, with emphasis on primates.
WThe Art of Not Being Governed: An Anarchist History of Upland Southeast Asia is a book-length anthropological and historical study of the Zomia highlands of Southeast Asia written by James C. Scott published in 2009. Zomia, as defined by Scott, includes all the lands at elevations above 300 meters stretching from the Central Highlands of Vietnam to Northeastern India. That encompasses parts of Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Myanmar, as well as four provinces of China. Zomia's 100 million residents are minority peoples "of truly bewildering ethnic and linguistic variety", he writes. Among them are the Akha, Hmong, Karen, Lahu, Mien, and Wa peoples.
WThe Cosmic Serpent: DNA and the Origins of Knowledge is a 1998 non-fiction book by anthropologist Jeremy Narby.
WDeutsch-Mythologische Landschaftsbilder is a two-volume book by Guido von List published in 1891. Its English translation is German Mythological Landscape Scenes.
WDream Analysis: Notes of the Seminar Given in 1928–1930 is a book by Swiss psychiatrist, Carl Gustav Jung. It was first published in English in 1984. It was later translated into German and published in that language in 1991.
WFar-fetched facts is a book by German anthropologist Richard Rottenburg published in German as Weit hergeholte Fakten in 2002; the English translation was released in 2009. The book is an ethnography-based, though fictionalized, polyphonic account of a waterworks improvement project in Tanzania. The book follows the different stages of the development project by looking closely at the interactions between a Northern development bank, experts of an international consulting firm and African project managers. It focuses thereby on technologies of inscription that enable the reconnaissance and operationalization of improvement measures to be taken, but also guide the overall interaction between the different stakeholders of the project. Showing these representational and managerial practices the book lays bare the necessary day-to-day production of objectivity and legitimacy in development projects, but also the intricacies and inconsistencies of daily translation processes, that often lead to the rather disappointing results of such development enterprises. Inspired by organizational and science and technology studies “Far-fetched facts” provides an anthropological critique of the aid industry in Africa distinct from postdevelopment critique.
WThe Flight of the Wild Gander: Explorations in the Mythological Dimension is a 1969 book by mythologist Joseph Campbell, in which he collects a number of his early essays and forwards. Essays include "Bios and Mythos", "Mythogenesis" and "The Symbol without Meaning".
WThe Future of the Race is a 1996 book by prominent African-American scholars Henry Louis Gates and Cornel West. It is both commentary and criticism on W. E. B. Du Bois' essay "The Talented Tenth". The Vintage Books edition includes the original text by Du Bois.
WGiants, Monsters & Dragons: An Encyclopedia of Folklore, Legend and Myth is an encyclopedia of monsters, folklore, myths, and legends compiled by Carol Rose. The book features small entries about monsters, folklore, myths and legends from around the world, and includes many illustrations.
WGods, Graves, and Scholars is a book by German writer C. W. Ceram about the history of archaeology. First published in 1949, Ceram's book introduced the general reading public to the origin and development of archaeology. It sold extremely well — over five million copies have been published in 30 languages — and remains in print today.
WGossip from the Forest: the Tangled Roots of our Forests and Fairytales is a 2012 book by Sara Maitland about the connections between forests and fairytales in Northern Europe. It is structured around accounts of walks through 12 forests in Scotland and England, one per month of the year, and 12 associated retellings of traditional fairytales, and was published by Granta (ISBN 9781847084293).
WThe Greatness That Was Babylon is a book about Babylonia by the Assyriologist H. W. F. Saggs.
WGrowing Up in New Guinea is a 1930 publication by Margaret Mead. The book is about her encounters with the indigenous people of the Manus Province of Papua New Guinea before they had been changed by missionaries and other western influences. She compares their views on family, marriage, sex, child rearing, and religious beliefs to those of westerners.
WHidden Treasures of Swat (ISBN 978-969-23042-0-7) is a non-fiction book based on the achievements of Italian Archaeological Mission (IAM) in Pakistan and Department of Archaeology and Museums (DOAM) Pakistan. Six major discoveries by Italian archaeologists in Swat District of the Khyber Pukhtunkhwa province of Pakistan are discussed in the book.
WHow Institutions Think is a book that contains the published version of the Frank W. Abrams Lectures delivered by the influential cultural anthropologist Mary Douglas at Syracuse University in March 1985.
WHuman Universals is a book by Donald Brown, an American professor of anthropology (emeritus) who worked at the University of California, Santa Barbara. It was published by McGraw Hill in 1991. Brown says human universals, "comprise those features of culture, society, language, behavior, and psyche for which there are no known exception."
WHydriotaphia, Urn Burial, or, a Discourse of the Sepulchral Urns lately found in Norfolk is a work by Sir Thomas Browne, published in 1658 as the first part of a two-part work that concludes with The Garden of Cyrus.
WThe Inner Reaches of Outer Space is a 1986 book by mythologist Joseph Campbell, the last book completed before his death in 1987. In it, he explores the intersections of art, psychology and religion, and discusses the ways in which new myths are born. In writing the book, Campbell drew on transcripts of a series of lectures and conversations that he gave in San Francisco between 1981–1984, including legendary symposiums with astronaut Rusty Schweickart and with members of the Grateful Dead.
WAn Instinct for Dragons is a book by University of Central Florida anthropologist, David E. Jones, in which he seeks to explain the universality of dragon images in the folklore of human societies. In the introduction, Jones conducts a survey of dragon myths from cultures around the world and argues that certain aspects of dragons or dragon-like mythical creatures are found very widely. He claims that even the Inuit have a reptilian dragon-like monster, even though they had never seen an actual reptile.
WIntelligence in Nature: An Inquiry into Knowledge is a 2005 non-fiction book by Jeremy Narby.
WThe Interpretation of Cultures: Selected Essays refers to a 1973 book by the American anthropologist Clifford Geertz. The book was listed in the Times Literary Supplement as one of the 100 most important publications since World War Two.
WJamaica Anansi Stories is a book by Martha Warren Beckwith published in 1924. It is a collection of folklore, riddles and transcriptions of folk music, all involving the trickster Anansi, gathered from Jamaicans of African descent.
WThe Kon-Tiki Expedition: By Raft Across the South Seas is a 1948 book by the Norwegian writer Thor Heyerdahl. It recounts Heyerdahl's experiences with the Kon-Tiki expedition, where he travelled across the Pacific Ocean on a balsa tree raft. The book was first published in Norway on 2 November 1948, and sold out in 15 days.
WKwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things , often shortened to Kwaidan, is a 1904 book by Lafcadio Hearn that features several Japanese ghost stories and a brief non-fiction study on insects. It was later used as the basis for a 1964 film, Kwaidan, by Masaki Kobayashi.
WThe Bibliotheca Classica, or Classical Dictionary containing a full Account of all the Proper Names mentioned in Ancient Authors is the best-known work of John Lemprière, an English classical scholar. Edited by various later scholars, the dictionary long remained a readable if not absolutely trustworthy reference book in mythology and classical history. Lemprière wished "to give the most accurate and satisfactory account of all the proper names which occur in reading the Classics, and by a judicious collection of anecdotes and historical facts to draw a picture of ancient times, not less instructive than entertaining."
WLondon lore: the legends and traditions of the world's most vibrant city is a 2008 book about the folklore and history of London by Steve Roud. Another edition was published in 2010.
WLost Cities and Vanished Civilizations is a 1962 book by Robert Silverberg that deals with the then-current archaeology studies of six past civilizations. The book is divided into six chapters, and each deals with a particular civilization: Pompeii, Troy, Nicola, Babylon, Chichen Itza, and Angkor Wat. Silverberg also deals with the historical search for the past through the life works of archaeologists such as Heinrich Schliemann and Henry Rawlinson.
WMale and Female is a 1949 comparative study of tribal men and women on seven Pacific islands and men and women in the contemporary United States by anthropologist Margaret Mead.
WMan and His Symbols is the last work undertaken by Carl Jung before his death in 1961. First published in 1964, it is divided into five parts, four of which were written by associates of Jung: Marie-Louise von Franz, Joseph L. Henderson, Aniela Jaffé, and Jolande Jacobi. The book, which contains numerous illustrations, seeks to provide a clear explanation of Jung's complex theories for a wide non-specialist readership.
WThe Megalithic European: The 21st Century Traveller in Prehistoric Europe (2004) is Julian Cope's second book on historic sites, this time looking at continental Europe and Ireland. Like its predecessor—The Modern Antiquarian—the book is split into a shorter, discursive introduction with the bulk of the text being a gazetteer of sites. As with The Modern Antiquarian, sites are listed alphabetically within their sections.
WMiscellaneous Babylonian Inscriptions is a 1918, Sumerian linguistics and mythology book written by George Aaron Barton.
WMythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes is a book written by Edith Hamilton, published in 1942 by Little, Brown and Company. It has been reissued since then by several publishers, including its 75th anniversary illustrated edition. It retells stories of Greek, Roman, and Norse mythology drawn from a variety of sources. The introduction includes commentary on the major classical poets used as sources, and on how changing cultures have led to changing characterizations of the deities and their myths. It is frequently used in high schools and colleges as an introductory text to ancient mythology and belief.
WMyths and Legends of Babylonia and Assyria is a book by Donald Alexander Mackenzie published in 1915. The book discusses not only the mythology of Babylonia and Assyria, but also the history of the region (Mesopotamia), Biblical accounts similar to the region's mythology, and comparisons to the mythologies of other cultures, such as those of India and northern Europe.
WMyths to Live By is a 1972 book, a collection of essays, originally given as lectures at the Cooper Union Forum, by mythologist Joseph Campbell between 1958 and 1971. The work has an introduction by Johnson E. Fairchild.
WOld Turtle is a 1992 book by Douglas Wood about Creation and the nature of God.
WEl Perú: Itinerarios de Viajes is an expansive written work covering a variety of topics in the natural history of Peru, written by the prominent Italian-born Peruvian geographer and scientist Antonio Raimondi in the latter half of the 19th century. The work was compiled from extensive and detailed notes Raimondi took while criss-crossing the country, studying the nation's geography, geology, meteorology, botany, zoology, ethnography, and archaeology; El Perú focuses to some extent on each of these topics and others. The first volume was published in 1874; several more volumes were published both before Raimondi's death and posthumously from his notes, the last being released in 1913, making a five volume set. The volumes are a classic example of exploration scholarship, and form one of the earliest and broadest scientific reviews of Peru's natural and cultural heritage.
WThe Provençal Tales is a book written by Michael de Larrabeiti and published in 1988 by Pavilion Books. De Larrabeiti worked on the transhumance in the 1950s and 1960s; his book records stories apparently told to de Larrabeiti by Provençal shepherds.
WRagnarok: The Age of Fire and Gravel is a book by Minnesota politician Ignatius L. Donnelly published first in 1883. It is a companion to the more well-known work Atlantis: The Antediluvian World.
WThe Raw and the Cooked (1964) is the first volume from Mythologiques, a structural study of Amerindian mythology written by French anthropologist Claude Lévi-Strauss. It was originally published in French as Le Cru et le Cuit. Although the book is part of a larger volume Lévi-Strauss writes that it may be appreciated on its own merits, he does not consider this first volume a beginning: "since it would have developed along similar lines if it had had a different starting point".
WRitual and Domestic Life in Prehistoric Europe is a book by the English archaeologist Richard Bradley of the University of Reading. It was first published by Routledge in 2005.
WRock Art and the Prehistory of Atlantic Europe: Signing the Land is an archaeological book authored by the English academic Richard Bradley of the University of Reading. It was first published by Routledge in 1997.
WSeeing Anthropology: Cultural Anthropology Through Film by Karl G. Heider introduces cultural anthropology with the use of both text and audiovisual media. First published in 1997, the work uses the tools of the ethnographic film discipline to inform its audience of the various cultural anthropology topics. Also, the text covers 14 different cultures in 17 chapters, which are also represented in 21 different short film clips ranging from two to twelve minutes.
WThe Sexual Life of Savages in North-Western Melanesia is a 1929 book by anthropologist Bronisław Malinowski. The work is his second in the trilogy on the Trobrianders, with the other two being Argonauts of the Western Pacific (1922) and Coral Gardens and Their Magic (1935).
WSpecimens of Bushman Folklore is a book by the linguist Wilhelm H. I. Bleek and Lucy C. Lloyd, which was published in 1911. The book records eighty-seven legends, myths and other traditional stories of the ǀXam Bushmen in their now-extinct language. The stories were collected through interviews with various narrators, chief among them ǀA!kunta, ǁKabbo, Diäǃkwain, ǃKweiten ta ǁken and ǀHanǂkasso.
WTanglewood Tales for Boys and Girls (1853) is a book by American author Nathaniel Hawthorne, a sequel to A Wonder-Book for Girls and Boys. It is a re-writing of well-known Greek myths in a volume for children.
WThou Art That is a book by Joseph Campbell exploring the mythological underpinnings of the Judeo-Christian tradition. It was edited posthumously from Campbell's lectures and unpublished writing by Eugene Kennedy.
WToward an Anthropological Theory of Value: The False Coin of Our Own Dreams is a 2002 book-length synthesis of cultural, economic, and political theories of value, written by anthropologist David Graeber and published by Palgrave.
WUrkunden des ægyptischen Altertums is a series of editions of Ancient Egyptian texts, published between 1903–1961.
WWarrior Marks: Female Genital Mutilation and the Sexual Blinding of Women is a 1993 book by Alice Walker with Pratibha Parmar, who made an award-winning documentary of the same name. Following on from her 1992 novel Possessing the Secret of Joy, Walker undertakes a journey to parts of Africa where clitoridectomy is still practised. Warrior Marks is a harrowing work as Walker interviews women who have had the operation done and finally interviews a woman—circumcised herself—who performs the operation.
WWatching the English: The Hidden Rules of English Behaviour is a 2004 international bestseller by Kate Fox, a leading social anthropologist. The book examines "typical" English behaviour.
WWe Have Never Been Modern is a 1991 book by Bruno Latour, originally published in French as Nous n'avons jamais été modernes : Essai d'anthropologie symétrique.
WWomen Who Run with the Wolves: Myths and Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype is a book by Jungian analyst, author and poet Clarissa Pinkola Estés, Ph.D, published in 1992 by Ballantine Books. It spent 145 weeks on The New York Times Best Seller list over a three-year span, a record at the time.. Estés won a Las Primeras Award from the Mexican American Women's Foundation for being the First Latina on the New York Times Best Seller list. The book also appeared on other best seller lists, including USA Today, Publishers Weekly, and Library Journal.
WThe Wonder That Was India: A Survey of the Culture of the Indian Sub-Continent Before the Coming of the Muslims, is a book on Indian history written by Arthur Llewellyn Basham and first published in 1954.