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A review by boosttergold
The Dawn of Everything by David Wengrow, David Graeber
1.0
The problem with books like Dawn of Everything is that there is a degree to which they are completely impervious to legitimate criticism. If the audience disagrees with the arguments presented, either they are constrained by the hierarchy of the system in place so you can't take them seriously or the criticism misses the point of the book because the book is only trying to challenge previous notions, so by thinking about it differently, it has achieved its goal. It is maddening in a way that can't be expressed in words.
Aside from this issue, Dawn of Everything seems like a book that began with a thesis and then began to find information that fit into that, and judging from the criticism many anthropologists seem to have as well, it appears to be a pretty consistent complaint. Hardly anything is sourced, everything seems to be cherry picked and when they do provide evidence it is presented as fact because the authors say it is. The book has been said to be
"perilously close to scholarly malpractice," and honestly, that's probably being kind. This is one of those books that makes people feel smart for reading and talking about but can't stand up to any level of honest, well thought out criticism. But of course that's not the point. Because it challenged our previously held notions, you see, it achieved its goal.
Just laughably bad and atrociously depressing.
Aside from this issue, Dawn of Everything seems like a book that began with a thesis and then began to find information that fit into that, and judging from the criticism many anthropologists seem to have as well, it appears to be a pretty consistent complaint. Hardly anything is sourced, everything seems to be cherry picked and when they do provide evidence it is presented as fact because the authors say it is. The book has been said to be
"perilously close to scholarly malpractice," and honestly, that's probably being kind. This is one of those books that makes people feel smart for reading and talking about but can't stand up to any level of honest, well thought out criticism. But of course that's not the point. Because it challenged our previously held notions, you see, it achieved its goal.
Just laughably bad and atrociously depressing.