The Wayfinders: Why Ancient Wisdom Matters in the Modern World (The CBC Massey Lectures)

The author is a gifted writer. However, what makes this book a must read is the timely topic.

This book shot to number one on my favorites list. The passion and beauty in the way professor Davis describes these cultures of the Andes, of the Amazon, of the Inuit people, and more and not just explaining to us about their lifestyles, but how everything is connected. We don't have to live one way. It puts so much into perspective about the world, while remaining hopeful and positive about the future. The goal is to evoke change and insight, not to simply bark at the reader about facts or about problems in our modern societies. Those are included, of course, but as a means to inspire. I just felt the magic and indescribable sense of spirit and emotion through the pages as Davis examined the lives of other less known about cultures and just brings a spark back to humanity in a much needed time. What a glorious book and a beautiful human being. High praise to the anthropologists who explore with such bravery and open minds to share with us about their experiences. I highly recommend this to all.

Davis seems to have been EVERYWHERE, but never loses that sense of awe and wonder that pushes the reader to genuinely think about human experiences beyond his/her own. He notes that cultures and languages are being lost at a rate greater than biodiversity loss, and the wonders of human achievements and resilience are being wiped out. Culture is a funny thing: It can unite societies, but it is immensely fragile. Thousands of years of adaptations, oral history and knowledge, can be be wiped out within a single generation of ignorance and neglect.The book explored the various ways different cultures found their way in the world. Some examples: Aborigines practiced environmental stewardships for TENS of thousands of years, although they have no need for the concept of linear time. Polynesian navigators became human supercomputers in order to find specks of land across the vast Pacific Ocean without compasses, sextants, and GPS's. Nomadic tribes in Northern Kenya accrued huge herds of cattle as an adaptation to a land of recurring drought. These practices were all woven elaborately into the customs and traditions of each unique culture; it's all very fascinating stuff.In modern times, we have a tendency to dismiss these incredible and ingenious achievements that allowed indigenous people to survive and thrive. Sometimes it's unintentional; other times it's outright disturbing. Heyerdahl of the Kon-Tiki fame, ignited the public's imagination with his voyage across the Pacific, but dismissed the reams of evidence that pointed to this great achievement was of Polynesian origins. An Australian politician in the 20th century declared that "there is no scientific evidence the the aboriginal is a human being at all", a commonly held notion that led almost to the extinction of one of the oldest and continuous ways of life in the world. Development agencies, with the noble intentions of helping nomadic tribes settled, destroyed a culture that was developed around surviving drought.All of these intriguing insights address the central question of the book: Why are cultures worth saving? I'll leave with one of the most powerful passages of the book:"Were I to distill a single message from these Massey Lectures, it would be that culture is not trivial. It is not decoration or artifice, the songs we sing or even the prayers we chant. It is a blanket of comfort that gives meaning to lives. It is a body of knowledge that allows the individual to make sense out of the infinite sensations of consciousness, to find meaning and order in a universe that ultimately has either. Culture is a body of laws and traditions, a moral and ethical code that insultates a people from the barbaric heart that history suggests lies just beneath the surface of all human societies and indeed all humans. Culture alone allows us to reach, as Abraham Lincoln said, for the better angels of our nature. (p. 198)"Powerful stuff.I highly recommend this book. As modern Western culture continues to grapple with issues of depression, meaning, and what it means to become an adult human being, I can't help but feel that there are things we can learn from other

Birdcalls echo in the rainforests of Borneo as the Penan hunter crouches before a kill. Inuit glide across the wind-scoured ice. Kogi priests traverse Colombian coral reefs and cloud forests to learn contours of the landscape entrusted to their care. In the published edition of his five Massey Lectures, Wade Davis seeks to answer the question “What does it mean to be human and alive?” with portraits of culture spanning centuries and terrain. It’s a rare work of anthropology illustrating the vitality of human imagination from Himalayan peaks to the southern sea; Davis brings new attention to peoples still practicing ancient arts and writes with the voice of a lyrical novelist. Anything but a detached textbook, it remains a work as fascinating as it is beautiful to read. And in depicting new dreams of the Earth, Davis presents one of his own.Why do we speak the languages we do? How did humanity journey out of Africa millennia ago and come to settle every corner of the habitable world? In examining the planet’s constellation of cultures, Davis argues that thousands of languages and millions of lifeways are as threatened as species comprising the biosphere. The loss of either has equal significance for the flourishing of our world. To read his book is to discover a love letter to our species and develop a new understanding of the diversity of human endeavor. The images are robust: San sipping water from ostrich eggs beneath the sweltering Kalahari sun, a steadfast wayfinder aboard the open-decked Hokule’a crashing through waves on a journey across the Pacific and into the Polynesian spirit, travels into the jade canopy of the Amazon rainforest - realm of the jaguar shaman. A former National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence, Davis writes from firsthand experience based on decades of fieldwork and creates a sense of eyewitness any travel writer would envy while never deviating from scholarly precision.As a historical text, the book is exhaustively researched and includes an annotated bibliography with years of reading material for those interested in anthropology and natural history. While acknowledging Western culture’s triumphs and contributions, Davis also explores the consequences of colonialism. Losing connection with other ways of living carries environmental and psychological costs, and the character of culture is inextricably linked to the spirit of place. The Tendai marathon monks of Japan, Andean pilgrimages, or Songlines of Aboriginal Australia represent exquisite achievements in human thought, and Davis interrogates the extent to which a singular culture produces a singular mindset. Yet the book remains hopeful. Why does Davis have faith in our ability to mend ages of destruction? Because of the tenacity and ingenuity of the human journey he himself celebrates. An unforgettable read both for the energy of its author and the poetry of its language, The Wayfinders inspired me to pursue anthropology more than any other text.

This is the second time I bought this book. I have it away immediately after reading it the first time, as I think everyone should read it, but I actually mourned not having it. First time thats happened. It completely changed my perspective on humanity in this world and priorities of the planet. If I could meet Wade Davis in person, I would thank him profusely.

Reading Wade Davis reminds me in a way of how I felt about certain pop stars when I was in my early teens. I am overwhelmed by his writing talent, but even more overwhelmed by his intellect.....much better reasons to be so enthusiastic than about the dulcet tones of Elvis.....but I am certainly a "fan." His writing flows, and although his language is intelligent, it's also very readable. I would guess that his passion for his subjects beams through. Not the first, nor the last of his books for me, and the subject matter? I think the subtitle sums it up, "Why Ancient Wisdom Matters in the Modern World." The book is well described on its back cover, so you don't need anyone like me to tell you more - except that Wade Davis is an exceptional mind, and a thorough researcher, so his words have authority as well as beauty.

Good quality!

Liked all of it

Great read, excellent source for the high school course used in.