Cows, Pigs, Wars and Witches

by Marvin Harris

No matter how extraordinary human behaviour – in our own culture or elsewhere – there’s always an explanation for it. Exploring lifestyle, custom and ritual in traditional societies from India to British Columbia via New Guinea and the Holy Land, this anthropologist makes a very convincing case for the importance of understanding history, not just for explaining mysterious customs of the past but for avoiding the mistakes we repeat again and again.