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Reviews
Ishi in Two Worlds: A Biography of the Last Wild Indian in North America by Theodora Kroeber
branev's review against another edition
3.0
I have read this book 3 years ago but I still remember the story as it is a really compelling one. I found the ethnographic element inside really valuable, yet what I did not like was the narrative. It was somehow deprived of involvement of the author, which some may appreciate but not me. I understand that this is kind of a biography book, but I do prefer some more in-depth analyzing instead of just posting some facts.
erin_oriordan_is_reading_again's review against another edition
College anthropology class. Trigger warning for extremely graphic descriptions of white atrocities against Native Americans.
sunstreamer's review against another edition
3.0
I listened to this as an audiobook only and thus retained less than I would normally, but I still found Ishi's story and worldview fascinating, and enjoyed Kroeber's two part analysis of him and his life.
cherrycicada's review against another edition
4.0
Ishi, the last "wild" Yahi Indian, stumbles into the modern world of post-Gold-Rush California after 12 years of hiding with the remnant of his people. He fully expects to be killed, but he is desperate and tired of running ... alone. Luckily, he's adopted by 2 men who are interested in linguistics, native Americans, and who work for a university museum. Ishi goes to live in the museum and stays there for about 5 years before he dies of tuberculosis.
I found the narrative to be extremely interesting as it began by expounding upon the history of the wiping out of the area's "wild" native Americans. I found it quite shocking that most of this started with horrible men who liked to kill the natives for sport and fun. The author cites the writings of these men and their description of their slaughters for sport. Of course, this caused the natives (who had lost family members) to seek revenge on area settlers who sought revenge on the natives who sought revenge on the ... well, you get the picture.
Ishi is painted as a kind, observant man with a childlike awe of the new world around him. I wish the videos taken of him had survived, but I feel like I got to know what was possible to know of him through the biographer's writings. One idea that he voiced that will stick with me, though, is that modern man may have much knowledge, but he lacks wisdom. The white man looked at him and saw someone technologically and culturally from the stone age, but he looked at the white man and saw someone technologically and culturally unwise.
Definitely an interesting book, well worth the read just for the history and the ideas contained within.
I found the narrative to be extremely interesting as it began by expounding upon the history of the wiping out of the area's "wild" native Americans. I found it quite shocking that most of this started with horrible men who liked to kill the natives for sport and fun. The author cites the writings of these men and their description of their slaughters for sport. Of course, this caused the natives (who had lost family members) to seek revenge on area settlers who sought revenge on the natives who sought revenge on the ... well, you get the picture.
Ishi is painted as a kind, observant man with a childlike awe of the new world around him. I wish the videos taken of him had survived, but I feel like I got to know what was possible to know of him through the biographer's writings. One idea that he voiced that will stick with me, though, is that modern man may have much knowledge, but he lacks wisdom. The white man looked at him and saw someone technologically and culturally from the stone age, but he looked at the white man and saw someone technologically and culturally unwise.
Definitely an interesting book, well worth the read just for the history and the ideas contained within.
j00j's review against another edition
3.0
A fascinating and troubling look at early anthropology. Of interest to SFF fans who may not know this: Theodora Kroeber was Usula LeGuin's mother.
pvtsmr's review against another edition
5.0
This was fantastically good. Drawing on source material from the late 1800s to 1910s, and written in the late 1950s, it could easily have fallen into the tropes of its day. However, the language used is surprisingly modern in tone (the title being drawn from a source quote), and Ishi is neither glorified nor stigmatized. The author manages to write about him objectively without making him an object of study. I highly recommend it.
olive2read's review against another edition
4.0
Lovely biography of Ishi. I wish there weren't quite so many holes in this, eg no mention is made of the time Ishi spent at the PPIE, and I wish the part dedicated to Ishi after Oroville had represented a larger percentage of the whole - but it was an interesting and enjoyable read. I appreciated the attention paid to the source material - especially the acknowledgment that much of it was unreliable - as well as the discussion of departures from conclusions by those reviewing the topics prior to this.