Elizabeth Marshall Thomas

Elizabeth Marshall Thomas was nineteen when her father took his family to live among the Bushmen of the Kalahari. Fifty years later, after a life of writing and study, Thomas returns to her experiences with the Bushmen, one of the last hunter-gatherer societies on earth, and discovers among them an essential link to the origins of all human society.Humans lived for 1,500 centuries as roving clans, adapting daily to changes in environment and food supply, living for the most part like their animal ancestors. Those origins are not so easily abandoned, Thomas suggests, and our modern society has plenty still to learn from the Bushmen.Through her vivid, empathic account, Thomas reveals a template for the lives and societies of all humankind.

“A study of primitive people which, for beauty of . . . style and concept, would be hard to match.” — The New York Times Book ReviewIn the 1950s Elizabeth Marshall Thomas became one of the first Westerners to live with the Bushmen of the Kalahari desert in Botswana and South-West Africa. Her account of these nomadic hunter-gatherers, whose way of life had remained unchanged for thousands of years, is a ground-breaking work of anthropology, remarkable not only for its scholarship but for its novelistic grasp of character. On the basis of field trips in the 1980s, Thomas has now updated her book to show what happened to the Bushmen as the tide of industrial civilization—with its flotsam of property rights, wage labor, and alcohol—swept over them. The result is a powerful, elegiac look at an endangered culture as well as a provocative critique of our own."The charm of this book is that the author can so truly convey the strangeness of the desert life in which we perceive human traits as familiar as our own. . . . The Harmless People is a model of the style very simple and precise, perfectly suited to the neat, even fastidious activities of a people who must make their world out of next to nothing." — The Atlantic

Have you ever wondered what the world looks like to your dog? Or what it smells like? Do dogs have dreams and, if so, what about? And are dogs really capable of emotion? THE HIDDEN LIFE OF DOGS was a sensational bestseller on first publication and is now considered a classic. In her riveting account of thirty years spent living with dogs, wolves and dingoes, Elizabeth Marshall Thomas provides a fascinating insight into a species very different from our own, yet in many respects surprisingly familiar.

A fictional account of the life of a Siberian tribe 20,000 years ago, from the author of "Harmless People" and "Warrior Herdsmen". It is both the story of a daily struggle for survival against starvation, cold and violence, and an evocation of spiritual journeys and primitive magic.

From the plains of Africa to her very own backyard, noted author and anthropologist Elizabeth Marshall Thomas explores the world of cats, both large and small in this classic bestseller. Inspired by her own feline's instinct to hunt and supported by her studies abroad, Thomas examines the life actions, as well as the similarities and differences of these majestic creatures. Lions, tigers, pumas and housecats: Her observations shed light on their social lives, thought processes, eating habits, and communication techniques, and reveal how they survive and coexist with each other and with humans.

In this sequel to her illuminating bestseller The Hidden Life of Dogs, Elizabeth Marshall Thomas profiles the canines in her own household to show how dogs have comfortably adapted to life with their human owners -- and with each other. A classically trained anthropologist, she answers questions we all have about our pets' behavior. Do dogs have different barks that mean different things? What makes a dog difficult to house-train? Why do certain dogs and cats get along so well? How does Snoopy recognize people he sees only once a year, while Misty barks at strangers she sees every day?The Social Lives of Dogs presents marvelous evidence of the power of the group -- and shows us that those who are fortunate enough to be given the trust of an honorable dog will also have their lives enriched.

Elizabeth Marshall Thomas has spent a lifetime observing the natural world, chronicling the customs of pre-contact hunter-gatherers and the secret lives of deer and dogs. In this book, the capstone of her long career, Thomas, now eighty-eight, turns her keen eye to her own life. The result is an account of growing old that is at once funny and charming and intimate and profound, both a memoir and a life-affirming map all of us may follow to embrace our later years with grace and dignity. A charmingly intimate account and a broad look at the social and historical traditions related to aging, Growing Old explores a wide range of issues connected with growing older, from stereotypes of the elderly as burdensome to the methods of burial humans have used throughout history to how to deal with a concerned neighbor who assumes you’re buying cat food to eat for dinner.

Elizabeth Marshall Thomas's first novel, an international best seller, drew praise of the highest kind. "[Reindeer Moon] deserves a place of distinction, right at the head of the line, of the great series of 'historical' novels," wrote the late Joseph Campbell. It was published in fourteen languages and won a Hemingway Award Citation. The Animal Wife may well rank by its side, for this new novel shares half a world with its predecessor. Whereas Reindeer Moon saw the life of prehistoric humankind through the eyes of Yanan, a gifted but rebellious woman, The Animal Wife, which takes place a few years later, is narrated by young Kori, a marvelous hunter, as prodigious in the chase as he is ignorant of the ways of women. Yet Kori too is confined by his society, interdependent as it is with the world of animals.Elizabeth Marshall Thomas's greatest talent is to identify with, to become, an animal, as a great hunter does; and animals provide Kori's people with nearly all their religious and spiritual symbols, nearly all their tools and weapons, nearly everything, except desire. Kori is full of desire and aspiration—the aspiration to be as great a hunter as his father, Swift; the desire for a woman of his own. Few readers of this book will ever forget the scene in which Kori, hunting in strange country for the site of a mysterious campfire, finds, swimming in a pond, what he imagines to be an animal but which turns out to be a naked woman; acting on instinct only, he instantly abducts her and makes her his wife.

In The Hidden Life of Deer, Elizabeth Marshall Thomas, the New York Times bestselling author of The Hidden Life of Dogs, turns her attention to wild deer, and the many lessons we can learn by observing nature. A narrative masterpiece and a naturalist’s delight, The Hidden Life of Deer is based on the twelve months Thomas, a renowned anthropologist, spent studying the local deer population near her home in New Hampshire.

A dog, a goat, and their flock follow the sight and scent of a star in a beautifully illustrated, keenly observed Nativity story.The story begins on a cold upland pasture where coarse grass and scrub cedar grew. The hour was midnight. The day was the first of winter. And the year of our Lord was not 1900 or 1600 or even 100. It was 0. On that night a white goat, Ima, and a huge, gray short-haired sheepdog, Lila, were keeping watch over a small flock of young sheep.Bright and dazzling, a star appears behind the cedars on the eastern skyline. It is big and powerful, and it has a pure, clean scent, like something halfway between honey and water. Lila, the sheepdog, and Ima, the goat, are compelled to follow the star on a journey to a humble manger in Bethlehem, a journey beset with danger, adventure, and love. In a story alive with insight and grace, best-selling author Elizabeth Scott Thomas brings us a striking portrait of the Nativity story from the captivating point of the view of the animal kingdom.

One of our greatest literary naturalists turns her famed observational eye on herself in this captivating memoir.How is it that an untrained, self-taught observer and writer could see things that professional anthropologists often missed? How is that a pioneering woman, working in male-dominated fields, without sponsors or credentials, could accomplish more than so many more celebrated and professionally educated men could manage? How can we all unlock the wisdom of the world simply by paying close attention?With their intelligence and acute insight into other cultures and species, Elizabeth Marshall Thomas's many books have won a wide and loving audience. In A Million Years with You , this legendary author shares stories from her life, showing how a formative experience in South West Africa (now Namibia) in the 1950s taught her how to pay attention to the ancient wisdom of animals and humankind.As a young woman, Marshall Thomas joined her family on an anthropological expedition to the Kalahari Desert, where she conducted fieldwork among the Ju/wa Bushmen, later publishing her findings as The Harmless People . After college, a wedding, and the birth of two children, she returned to Uganda shortly before Idi Amin's bloody coup. Her skills as an observer and a writer would be put to the test on many other occasions working with dogs, cats, cougars, deer—and with more personal struggles. A Million Years with You is a powerful memoir from a pioneering woman, an icon of American letters.

Elizabeth Marshall Thomas has spent a lifetime observing other creatures and other cultures, from her own backyard to the African savannah. Her books have transported millions of readers into the hidden lives of animals―from dogs and cats to deer and lions. She’s chronicled the daily lives of African tribes, and even imagined the lives of prehistoric humans. She illuminates unknown worlds like no other. Now, she opens the doors to her own. Dreaming of Lions traces Thomas’s life from her earliest days, including when, as a young woman in the 1950s, she and her family packed up and left for the Kalahari Desert to study the Ju/Wa Bushmen. The world’s understanding of African tribal cultures has never been the same since. Nor has Thomas, as the experience taught her not only how to observe, but also how to navigate in male-dominated fields like anthropology and animal science and do what she cared about spending time with animals and people in wild places, and relishing the people and animals around her at home. Readers join Thomas as she returns to Africa, after college and marriage, with her two young children, ending up in the turmoil leading to Idi Amin’s bloody coup. She invites us into her family life, her writing, and her fascination with animals―from elephants in Namibia, to dogs in her kitchen, or cougars outside her New England farmhouse. She also recounts her personal struggles, writing about her own life with the same kind of fierce honesty that she applies to the world around her, and delivering a memoir that not only shares tremendous insights, but also provides tremendous inspiration.Dreaming of Lions , originally published in hardcover as A Million Years With You , is slightly updated and includes a powerful new afterword by the author.

Inspired by the idea of symbiosis in evolution--that all living things evolve in a series of cooperative relationships--Thomas takes readers on a journey through the progression of life. Along the way she shares the universal likenesses, experiences, and environments of "Gaia's creatures," from amoebas in plant soil to the pets we love, from proud primates to Homo sapiens hunter-gatherers on the African savanna. Fervently rejecting "anthropodenial," the notion that nonhuman life does not share characteristics with humans, Thomas instead shows that paramecia can learn, plants can communicate, humans aren't really as special as we think we are--and that it doesn't take a scientist to marvel at the smallest inhabitants of the natural world and their connections to all living things.A unique voice on anthropology and animal behavior, Thomas challenges scientific convention and the jargon that prevents us all from understanding all living things better.

The absorbing chronicle of an expedition to the tribesmen of northern Uganda. The Dodoth―a tall, handsome people of the northern tip of Uganda―are a tribe in transition. They are proud, often cruel, warrior herdsmen whose oldest members live just as they did hundreds of years ago, but whose younger members sometimes learn to read and write and have brushed against the modern world. Elizabeth Marshall Thomas accompanied three anthropological expeditions to Africa and lived among the Dodoth. She displays a remarkable ability to communicate with the tribespeople and describe their lives and customs.

From barking to marking, wet noses to wagging tails, this informative guide answers the most puzzling questions about that most companionable of animals, the dog. In the spirit of the Discovery Channel television series Wild Discovery, this book delves into the heart of dog behavior, every beat of which is an echo of the wolf ancestors in each dog's bloodline. For example, the wolf's defense of territory is reflected in the dog's wild barking at strangers, and wolf-pack hierarchy is seen in the domestic dog's devotion to his human master.Featured in this indispensable resource are: -- Details of the similarities between domestic and wild dogs-- Insights into the dog's design, senses, life stages, and behavior-- Advice on choosing and training a dog-- A clear, comprehensive guide to dog care-- An authoritative directory of 50 major dog breedsFilled with vivid color photographs, this unique, insightful, and entertaining volume is sure to strike the fancy of first-time dog owners and veteran dog lovers alike.

Reindeer MoonHemingway Literary Award winnerA full-length novel by an American female author depicting the life of a girl and the primitive tribes surrounding her, set in the late Paleolithic era 20,000 years ago. (Part 2 of 3)A novel that elevates women to those who see them as nothing more than a man's "rib". A woman's footprints are holy. Because all the daughters in the world are mothers to all the people in this world.🌙🦌🌙🦌🌙🦌🌙🦌🌙🦌🌙🦌🌙🦌🌙🦌🌙🦌🌙🦌🌙🦌🌙🦌🌙🦌🌙세상의 모든 딸들 ②헤밍웨이문학상 수상작엘리자베스 마셜 토마스 지음 / 이선희 옮김영어 제목 의 한국어 번역 "Reindeer Moon" "레인디어문"2만년 전 후기 구석기시대를 배경으로 한 소녀와 그 녀를 둘러싼 원시부족들의 삶을 묘사한 미국 여류작 가의 장편소설. (3부 중 2부)여성을 남성의 '갈비뼈' 이상으로 보지 않는 사람들에게까지 끌어올리는 소설. 여성의 발자국은 신성하다. 세상의 모든 딸들은 이 세상 모든 사람들의 어머니이기 때문입니다.

A fictional account of the life of a Siberian tribe 20,000 years ago, from the author of "Harmless People" and "Warrior Herdsmen". It is both the story of a daily struggle for survival against starvation, cold and violence, and an evocation of spiritual journeys and primitive magic.

A fictional account of the life of a Siberian tribe 20,000 years ago, from the author of "Harmless People" and "Warrior Herdsmen". It is both the story of a daily struggle for survival against starvation, cold and violence, and an evocation of spiritual journeys and primitive magic.