Books by Bronislaw Malinowski

This volume presents the diary of one of the great anthropologists at a crucial time in his career. Malinowski's major works grew out of his findings on field trips to New Guinea and North Melanesia from 1914-1918. His journals cover a considerable part of that period of pioneer research.

Crime and Custom in Savage Society represents Bronislaw Malinowski's major discussion of the relationship between law and society. Throughout his career he constructed a coherent science of anthropology, one modeled on the highest standards of practice and theory. Methodology steps forward as a core element of the refashioned anthropology, one that stipulates the manner in which anthropological data should be acquired.Malinowski's choice of law was not inevitable, but neither was it unmotivated. Anyone interested in understanding the social structure and organization of societies cannot avoid dealing with the concept of "law," even if it is to deny its presence. Law and anthropology have shown a natural affinity for one another, sharing a beneficial history of using the methods and viewpoints of one to inform and advance the other.The best lesson Malinowski provides us with comes in the last paragraphs of Crime and Custom in Savage Society: "The true problem is not to study how human life submits to rules; the real problem is how the rules become adapted to life." On that question, he has left us richly inspired to continue the quest.

Scientific Theory of Culture and Other Essays

The main question of our age is how we live our lives

The main question of our age is how we live our lives

Bronislaw Malinowski achieved international recognition as the founder of "functionalism" in social anthropology, based on his studies of Melanesian society on the Trobriand Islands off New Guinea. His Crime and Custom in Savage Society is now one of the classic works of modern anthropology. In his book, Malinowski describes and analyzes the ways in which Trobriand Islanders structure and maintain the social and economic order of their tribe. This is essential reading for anyone interested in anthropology.

While much has been written about the work of Malinowski, little is known about his personal life. These letters, available for the first time, offer an insight of the man - not just as teacher and scientist but as a husband, father and friend.

This volume discusses aspects of small scale societies, including the study of the mental processes, as well as indigenous economics and law.

Presents both a summing up and a reformulation of Malinowski's functional theory of culture.

In Sex and Repression in Savage Society Malinowski applies his experiences on the Trobriand Islands to the study of sexuality, and the attendant issues of eroticism, obscenity, incest, oppression, power and parenthood.

While much has been written about the work of Malinowski, little is known about his personal life. These letters offer an insight of the man not just as teacher and scientist but as a husband, father and friend.