This was very informational. When doing a unit on Anthropology, this would be a great choice. ( )

This book is about Magdalena Hurtado, an anthropologist who spent fifteen years with the Ache, an endangered tribe in South America, and her findings on how they live. They are hunter-gatherers with a unique language and traditions. In some ways, they are like us, too. This book could be incorporated into a science or social studies lesson. It could be used to help students learn about research and sources. Any student interested in anthropology would enjoy this book, as well. ( )

In Anthropologist Scientist of the People, by Mary Batten, the author discusses a case study of a hunter gather society called the Aché in Paraguay. She talks about their culture but also about anthropology. The author discusses it both in terms of the study of social mechanisms and in terms of evolutionary biology. I would defiantly use this book in a cross discipline lesson. A lesson in social studies, either world geography of world history, crossed with a lesson on biology.
The scope of this book is fairly broad. While it does focus on the Aché, it is as an example of anthropology. It touches on hunter gather societies, epidemiology, immunology, evolution, etc…. It is not very in-depth. It seems meant as an introduction on the topic. The book is organized as a story narrative. The only reference aids are the chapter headings and the contact information for the Aché foundation. Accordingly, I was disappointed as to the organization. ( )

A Science in the field book, Anthropologist- Scientist of the People discusses A. Magdalena Hurtado (an anthropologist) and her intense study of the Ache’ (a group of hunter-gathers.) The book opens with an introduction to the setting of the forest, the customs of the Ache’, and the reasons Magdalena wanted to study them. In the next chapter, the author discusses Magdalena’s childhood and reasons for becoming an anthropologist. In the chapters that follow, the book discusses Magdalena’s journey, findings from the years spent with the Ache’, the new directions the study has taken, and continued efforts to save the Ache’.
I enjoyed this book. I thought it was age appropriate and the author took extra steps to ensure that it was understandable. If words possibly need defining the author did so in the text. The author did a great job connecting the reader to Magdalena, her family, and the Ache’. We go on a journey of discovery in this book with plenty of pictures to add to our imagination. This book voices the passion that Magdalena feels for these people. She invested her whole self into the people and made her children a part of the Ache’s world. I think telling the story in this way, the author helps students relate to the anthropologist as a person.
I liked the idea of the scientific process hidden within the text. This book posed questions, researched for answers, and is constantly adding new questions and trying to find new solutions. For me, the book made science even more fun, exciting, and adventurous. ( )

This specialized book is a summary of the anthropologist Magdalena Hurtado's experience studying the Ache people of Paraguay. The book is very qualified for accuracy because the information comes from the field work of this anthropologist. It is very focused on her experience and addresses the scope of the peoples way of life and the scientists experience in studying these people in their traditional culture and environment. The book although not including a table of contents is organized into chapters addressing different aspects of the Ache peoples way of life including Forest, about their environment, living with the Ache, about the experience of studying these people, new life in an old world, about the Ache way of life, and the future, about preserving their traditional ways and culture. The book includes bountiful photographs taken by the anthropologist in her field work and does a great job of portraying the Ache peoples and their emotional nature. There is an index and a page that suggests further reading at the end of the book. The tone is often narrative telling the story of the anthropologists experience. It is engaging and probably designed at the level of middle school. ( )