East Is a Big Bird: Navigation and Logic on Puluwat Atoll (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780674224261)

Puluwat Atoll in Micronesia, with a population of only a few hundred proud seafaring people, can fulfill anyone's romantic daydream of the South Seas. Thomas Gladwin has written a beautiful and perceptive book which describes the complex navigational systems of the Puluwat natives, yet has done so principally to provide new insights into the effects of poverty in Western cultures.

The cognitive system which enables the Puluwatans to sail their canoes without instruments over trackless expanses of the Pacific Ocean is sophisticated and complex, yet the Puluwat native would score low on a standardized intelligence test. The author relates this discrepancy between performance and measured abilities to the educational problems of disadvantaged children. He presents his arguments simply and clearly, with sensitive and detailed descriptions and many excellent illustrations. His book will appeal to anthropologists, psychologists, and sailing enthusiasts alike.

Author: Thomas Gladwin
ISBN-10: 0674224264
ISBN-13: 9780674224261
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Language: English
Published: 07/23/1995
Pages: 260
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.80lbs
Size: 8.90h x 5.80w x 0.60d