Wisdom of the Elders - Softcover

Knudtson, Peter

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1863732500 ISBN 13: 9781863732505

Publisher: Allen & Unwin (Australia) Pty Ltd, 1992

Synopsis

Explores beliefs about the relationship between humans and the environment in the ecological wisdom of the world's indigenous peoples

About this title

About the Author:

David Suzuki is an internationally renowned geneticist and environmentalist and a cofounder of the David Suzuki Foundation. He is the author of more than fifty books and is a recipient of the Right Livelihood Award, UNESCO’s Kalinga Prize for the Popularization of Science, and in 2007 was named one of Time Magazine's Heroes of the Environment. He lives in Vancouver.

Peter Knudtson is a nature writer and former wildlife biologist. He received his master's degree from California State University and his bachelor's degree in premedical zoology from the University of California. Additionally, he studied at the University of North Carolina and the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. He worked as a wildlife biologist in Alaska before coauthoring Genethics and Wisdom of the Elders: Sacred Native Stories of Nature with renowned environmental activist and academic David Suzuki.

From Publishers Weekly:

In this low-key, capacious study, Suzuki, a professor of genetics at the University of British Columbia, and science writer Knudtson (coauthors of Genetics ) compare primitive, aboriginal modes of perceiving the natural world with "Western culture's ecologically destructive worldview." Chapters focused on humans' relationships with, for instance, animals, vegetation and the universe begin with brief summaries of scientific explanation and continue with relevant myths and accounts of daily rituals of such societies as the Chewong in Malaysia, Alaska's Inuit and the Kayapo of the Amazon. Overpopulation, deforestation, solar energy and cyclic and linear approaches to time are considered; of particular interest are essays on the !OK Kung Bushmen's understanding of mammals' physiologies and the Australian aborgines' mythical prehistory, "Dreamtime." Although students of indigenous cultures may find this text basic, it presents an eloquent plea for modern society to more considerately interact with nature.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Allen & Unwin (Australia) Pty Ltd
• Publication date: 1992
• ISBN 10: 1863732500
• ISBN 13: 9781863732505
• Binding: Paperback