The Gentle Tasaday: A Stone Age People in the Philippine Rain Forest

by John Edwards Nance, Charles A. Lindbergh (Foreword)

From Publisher's Weekly "It is hard to imagine that another book will appear for a long time so poignant and full of wonders as Nance's full-bodied story of the discovery of a tiny handful of Stone Age people, the Tasaday, in the forests of Mindanao in 1971....One gets to know each member of the childlike "forest family." praised PW. Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Genres: Nonfiction, Anthropology

465 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1975

About the author

John Edwards Nance (December 19, 1935 - March 9, 2010) was a writer, journalist, and photographer, most famous for his work on the Tasaday people of the Philippines.

Nance was a journalist with the Associated Press, reporting from Vietnam (1965-1967) and elsewhere, including as the AP Bureau Chief for Manila.

Reviews

[Ingeborg · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first time that I read this book was in 1980 in high school. I read it again in 2010, and now own a copy given to me by the author, and inscribed.

The discovery of the Tasaday gives us a rare glimpse into our true human nature as it is in complete symbiosis with Nature. As inscribed on the Oracle of Delphi, “Know Thyself.” Also, to know yourself is to know God.

So, a very significant historic event chronicled by a high-caliber photo journalist of the time. I found it a fascinating and insightful read.

[Moira Mackinnon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great read. Unfortunately, it was a total lie, a complex con by John Nance that even had National Geographic completely taken in.

[Julia Hartmann]

Ich habe die Lektüre vorzeitig beendet, nachdem ich nach einer Google Recherche erfahren habe, dass die "Entdeckung" der Tasaday sehr umstritten ist.

[Cindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am more than half way through and I am honestly thoroughly apalled. Anthropology is a only a hobby so I am obviously limited in my knowledge of the subject, but even I know that what these people are doing to the Tasaday is horribly innapropriate and just morally wrong. It is in no way any sort of valid scientific study nor is it controlled in any manner and I certainly hope that as I advance in the book that I find that someone stepped in and corrected it. They need to be carefully studdied and protected... not taken on helicopter rides and given tobacco.

[Joann · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a fascinating book.

It was written in 1971, and I first read it shortly after that, and now of course I wonder what happened to the Tasaday, and I honestly don't think I want to find out. It appears throughout that the initial contacts were filled with ill advised interventions. It was 1971 and I would have hoped that the people who accidentally discovered the Tasaday during explorations into the rain forests as part of exploitive lumbering operations could have been more sensitive, but that clearly was expecting too much.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Am commenting here about fifty years after I read the book. Just remember loving it. Will have to reads again. But also, checked about possible hoax. Here is what i found:

https://hoaxes.org/archive/permalink/...

[Cindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was astonished at this book and was even more astonished when I learned it was a hoax!