Invitation to Anthropology - Tapa blanda

The writing is lively, the illustrations and examples are engaging and relevant. Each semester I ask students if I should continue to use a text, they always vote to keep Lassiter's book on the syllabus. I will be using it again this fall and I would absolutely recommend it to colleagues. -- Colleen E. Boyd, Ball State University My students thoroughly enjoyed it and raved about its ease of use, its small size, fairly inexpensive cost, and more importantly, how clearly the concepts of cultural anthropology were presented. Seldom have I had students announce in class that they enjoyed reading a text book, yet my students did this very thing. -- Sebastian LeBeau II, Minnesota State University - Mankato I was looking for a relatively small-sized text, so that other readings could be assigned; one that is not organized by 'band, tribe, chiefdom, state' and 'hunters and gatherers, horticulturalists, etc.' but that does contain basic information about the differences these types of cultures bring with them; and a text that deals with methods and explores what it means to be an anthropologist. I found all three in Invitation to Anthropology. I also appreciate Lassiter's use of examples: The students really get it when he says that he himself is ethnocentric about NASCAR. This causes comment. -- Melinda Bollar Wagner, Radford University

Lassiter's accessible introduction to anthropology encourages students to evaluate its relevance in our increasingly complex world. Part I focuses on the underlying assumptions and concepts that have driven anthropological theory and practice since its modern inception. Part II explores cross-cultural human issues showing how anthropological studies offer relevant insight into human beings and valuable models for thinking and acting. Invitation to Anthropology is an ideal text for undergraduate students, easily supplemented with case studies in anthropology.