Handbook of methods in cultural anthropology /

Anthropology does not lack handbooks. In the past few years, several have been published in all the standard subfields, including social and cultural anthropology. And most remain useful, even one as old as John Honigmann's classic edited Handbook of Social and Cultural Anthropology (1973). Most have sections on methods, but editors Bernard (emer., Florida) and Gravlee (Florida) focus on the core aspect: fieldwork. The second edition of this handbook (1st ed., CH, May'99, 36-4846) is organized into four parts: "Perspectives," "Acquiring Information," "Interpreting Information," and "Applying and Presenting Information." The 23 chapters were each separately authored; some are by well-known anthropologists and others by those not so well-known. All have lengthy reference lists. Curiously, the book offers no overall list of contributors. Nevertheless, the excellent essays certainly will be of use to experts wanting to expand their repertoire and to novices. Contributors cover topics ranging from epistemology to survey methods and from the classic participant observation to contemporary fieldwork in online environments. This highly readable collection will appeal to undergraduate and graduate students alike and be a useful addition to college and university libraries collecting in the social sciences. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through researchers/faculty. --David S. Azzolina, University of Pennsylvania