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A review by danielmbensen
Don't Sleep, There Are Snakes: Life and Language in the Amazonian Jungle by Daniel L. Everett
4.0
A clear and lucid description of the life of a missionary as he struggles with adapting to life among, and learns the language of, the profoundly different Piraha people. I read this book as a real-life first-contact story, and loved it. Everett is very good about separating fact from speculation and emotional reaction, and leaves you with (what at least feels like) a complete and well-balanced view of Piraha society and culture.
I plowed through the first part of the book, but slowed down on the second part, which is a discussion of linguistics and a critique of Chomskyan Universal Grammar. I'm interested in linguistics, but not qualified to have an opinion, and I would have preferred to be left out of this argument.
The last part, about Everett's "de-conversion" by the Piraha from Christianity to Atheism, was more provocative, but it didn't tell me much I didn't already know.
I plowed through the first part of the book, but slowed down on the second part, which is a discussion of linguistics and a critique of Chomskyan Universal Grammar. I'm interested in linguistics, but not qualified to have an opinion, and I would have preferred to be left out of this argument.
The last part, about Everett's "de-conversion" by the Piraha from Christianity to Atheism, was more provocative, but it didn't tell me much I didn't already know.