Margins
Savages and Civilization book cover
Savages and Civilization
1994
First Published
3.68
Average Rating
320
Number of Pages

A “provocative [and] vivid” ( Minneapolis Star Tribune ) look at the primitive cultures that have given many gifts to the modern world, and how their very existence is now threatened “This book should serve as a ‘wake-up’ call to people everywhere.”— Library Journal In Indian Givers and Native Roots, renowned anthropologist Jack Weatherford explored the clash between Native American and European cultures. Now, in Savages and Civilization, Weatherford broadens his focus to examine how civilization threatens to obliterate unique tribal and ethnic cultures around the world—and in the process imperils its own existence. As Weatherford explains, the relationship between “civilized” and “savage” peoples through history has encompassed not only violence, but also a surprising degree of cooperation, mutual influence, trade, and intermarriage. But this relationship has now entered a critical stage everywhere in the world, as indigenous peoples fiercely resist the onslaught of a global civilization that will obliterate their identities. Savages and Civilization powerfully demonstrates that our survival as a species is based not on a choice between savages and civilization, but rather on a commitment to their vital coexistence.

Avg Rating
3.68
Number of Ratings
94
5 STARS
30%
4 STARS
29%
3 STARS
26%
2 STARS
12%
1 STARS
4%
goodreads

Author

Jack Weatherford
Jack Weatherford
Author · 9 books
Jack McIver Weatherford is the former DeWitt Wallace Professor of anthropology at Macalester College in Minnesota. He is best known for his 2004 book, Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World. His other books include The History of Money; Indian Givers: How the Indians of the Americas Transformed the World; and The Secret History of the Mongol Queens: How the Daughters of Genghis Khan Rescued His Empire.
548 Market St PMB 65688, San Francisco California 94104-5401 USA
© 2026 Paratext Inc. All rights reserved