Review
“A tour de force of biographical exploration. . . . A wonderfully rich portrayal of a talented but awkward and vulnerable young man.”—Noel Malcolm, Sunday Telegraph


Book Description
Bronislaw Malinowski (1884–1942) was one of the most colorful and charismatic social scientists of the twentieth century. His contributions as a founding father of social anthropology and his complex personality earned him international notoriety and near-mythical status. This landmark book presents a vivid portrait of Malinowski’s early life, from his birth in Cracow to his departure in 1920 from the Trobriand Islands of the South Pacific. At the age of 36, he had already created the innovative fieldwork methods and techniques that would secure his intellectual legacy.

Drawing on an exceptionally rich array of primary documents, including Malinowski’s letters and unpublished diaries and manuscripts, Michael Young provides significant new information about the anthropologist’s personality, private life, and career. The author describes Malinowski’s restless life of travel, connections with intellectuals and artists, Nietzschean belief in his own destiny, and legendary fieldwork. The singular man who emerges from these pages fascinates on every level--as a volatile friend and lover, a provocative colleague, a passionate diarist, and a brilliant thinker who pioneered radical change in the field of anthropology.


From the Inside Flap
"By far the most ambitious and successful biography of an anthropologist ever written." - Donald Tuzin, University of California, San Diego

About the Author
Michael W. Young is a visiting fellow in the Department of Anthropology, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies at the Australian National University, Canberra.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

"Bronislaw Malinowski (1884-1942) was one of the most colourful and charismatic social scientists of the twentieth century. His contributions as a founding father of social anthropology and his complex personality earned him international notoriety and near-mythical status. This book presents a portrait of Malinowski's early life, from his birth in Cracow to his departure from Australia in 1920. By the age of 36, Malinowski had already created the innovative fieldwork methods and techniques that would secure his intellectual legacy." Young draws on an array of primary documents, including Malinowski's letters and unpublished diaries and manuscripts, and presents new information on the anthropologist's personality, private life, and early career. He describes Malinowski's restless life of travel - some of it in the imaginary footsteps of his literary hero and compatriot, Joseph Conrad - from Cracow to the Mediterranean and the Canary Island, Leipzig, London, Warsaw, Zakopane, Ceylon, Australia, colonial Papua, and the Trobriand Islands. Young also explores Malinowski's complicated relationships with women and with some of the greatest scholars of his generation.

SYNOPSIS

One of the most colorful and charismatic social scientists of the twentieth century, Bronislaw Malinowski (1884-1942) is considered the founding father of social anthropology. Focusing on the first 35 years of Malinowski's life, this study draws upon his private papers to illuminate the relationship between his living, thinking, and writing. Coverage includes Malinowski's boyhood in Cracow, his complicated relationships with women, and his interactions with other scholars. Young teaches anthropology at the Australian National U., Canberra. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

FROM THE CRITICS

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