7/29/2019 Recension ngative de Dieu tait dj l de Lissner

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Book Reviews 391welcome, but those concerning human values in general should be approached withgreat caution.On the other hand, the investigation reported in the present volume appears tomake a substantial contribution to the social science literature regarding a sociologicalstudy of values. Especially does i t raise signif icant questions within a sociologicalframe and indicate the direction in which sociological investigations in this area ofproblem will probably move toward a unified theory and general typology of humanvalues.M an, God, and Magic. IVAR ISSNER. T ranslated by J . MA XWEL L ROWNJOHN.(Originally published in German under the title Aber Gott War Da in 1958 byWalter-V erlag Olten.) New Y ork: G. P. Putnams Sons, 1961.344pp., bibliography,

117 illustrations, index, line drawings. $5.95.Reviewed by EDWARD ORBECK, ice University

The dustjacket of this book describes i t as a coAparison of the religious beliefsand practices of prehistoric man and modern primitive peoples. The book is both moreand less than this. L issner has another goal. Following F ather Wilhelm Schmidt andother cleric-anthropologists, whom he often ci tes, L issner states that mans originalconcept of God was monotheistic. He examines the cultures of certain primitive peoplesand certain prehistoric cultures in an attempt to support this conviction. He fails, butclaims success. Perhaps a more sophisticated scholar could have done better.In the process of failing, L issner violates the standards of sound scholarship. I naddition to ignoring cultures that do not accord with his thesis, he misuses data oncultures he has selected for discussion and arrives at. unwarranted conclusions. L issnerfrequently makes tentative assumptions that he quickly restates as established fact.On page 182, for example, L issner says that Neanderthal M an probably believed in asingle all-powerful god. No support is offered for this statement. On page 194, alltentativeness isgone; Neanderthal M an looked upon one god as the creator and sus-tainer of the world.This book may be of slight value as another example of the emotional defenseof anidea. I am unable to recommend it for any other use.Ishi i n Two Worlds: A Biography of theLast Wi ld I ndian inNorth America.THEODOR~

KROEBER.oreword by LEWISGA NNET I . erkeley and LosAngeles: U niversity ofCalifornia Press, 1961. 255 pp., bibliography, 2 figures, frontispiece, 5 maps, 62photographs. $5.95.Reviewed by S. A . BARRETT. itinrersity of Cali fornia, Berkeley

Frcsh from the prrss comesamost remarkable biography, Ishi in Two Worlds. I t isnot only, as i t states, a biography of the last wild I ndian in North America, but i t isalso a real source book of central California ethnology and a detailed record of thisexample of acculturation which is in most respects without equal in todays anthropol -ogical l iterature.T he author had a better opportunity to know Ishi and his life story than almostanyone except perhaps K roeber, Waterman, and Pope. I, myself, knew Ishi, fromseveral visits with him while he lived at the museum in San Francisco. I t is, therefore, aspecial privilege to be ahle to review this fascinating story of Ishi and hispeople, theY ahi.