The Serpent and the Rainbow By Wade Davis
“A map of the world covered of one wall of the cafe, and as I huddled over a cup of coffee I noticed David staring at it intently. He glanced at me, then back at the map, then again at me, only this time with a grin that splayed his beard from ear to ear. Lifting his arm toward the map, he dropped his finger on a piece of land that cut into Hudson’s Bay well beyond the Arctic Circle. I looked over at him and felt my own arm rise until it landed me in the middle of the upper Amazon.”
I really enjoyed reading the work of Wade Davis. At times I would forget that I was reading an ethnography and instead, feel like I was reading a fiction novel. His book has even been made into a movie by Wes Craven. I admire the way he draws his audience in using thick description. His experiences and not anthropological jargon are the central theme of his writing, which I think allows him draw in a larger audience than just fellow anthropologists.
-Robyn