...as cultural anthropology it provides the same level of explanatory power for understanding our cultural differences that the theory of evolution provided for understanding biology, or that the theory of plate tectonics did for understanding planetary-scale geologic processes.
Just as those two sciences could not advance beyond the observational phase without a theoretical framework, this third dimension of historical immigration patterns transforms a two-dimensional hodgepodge of cultural observations into a meaningful three-dimensional portrait far more illuminating than the usual North-South analysis.
Reviewer meanders, on Amazon.com
I cannot say enough about the power this book has had on my understanding of the social/political/religious world we live in. There is so much information, so many threads woven together, that reviewing it takes nearly as many words as the book itself contains. Reviewer meanders took 1,350 words to say what needed to be said. Every concept is important. Every idea is a piece of a massive puzzle.
Assembling this puzzle is a pleasure every step along the way. Each piece is a work of art in itself. And the whole is so much more than the sum of its parts, I chuckled in astonishment as the larger pictures emerged.
I've read the book three times now completely, not to mention stopping countless times along the way to re-read and savor the ideas being presented.
When I've experienced a good film or read a moving novel, I often search out reviews to read simply to prolong the essence of the experience. So it is here.
If you've read the book and want to savor it, Amazon has a growing number of readers rhapsodizing.
I will be referring to these and other writings from Mr Woodard in this journal.
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