Nisa: The Life and Words of a !Kung Woman

This classic paperback is available once again—and exclusively—from Harvard University Press.

This book is the story of the life of Nisa, a member of the !Kung tribe of hunter-gatherers from southern Africa’s Kalahari desert. Told in her own words—earthy, emotional, vivid—to Marjorie Shostak, a Harvard anthropologist who succeeded, with Nisa’s collaboration, in breaking through the immense barriers of language and culture, the story is a fascinating view of a remarkable woman.

Customer Reviews:

Dense, informitive, sad, and often moving

By Ben Anders "Ben Anders, aspiring screenwritter" - January 31, 2005

Majorie Shostak's account of her anthropology trip to Africa's Kalahari Desert examining the rituals, lifestyles and existence of the !Kung tribe is not to be read like an expanded version of a National Geographic article. It is written with academic rigor and precise examination of a !Kung woman Nisa. The majority of the book is told through Nisa's words which are translated into English with as much accuracy possible by Shostak. Shostak prefaces each chapter with a more general description of the events of Nisa's life which follow. The !Kung have such a different life style than Westerners, so naturally the story telling methods Nisa uses are a little unfamiliar. There is much more repetition of certain phrases and ideas that some of us might find excessive. If one can get past this they will soon see what an expert Nisa actually is. Also it is a tribute to Shostak that she didn't slice up the narrative to make it more accessible for Westerners.

The book in begun with an... read more

The only assigned book I ever finished before a class.

By R. Byrd "byrdie" - December 25, 2000

You don't have to be an anthropology student to find this book approachable. With Nisa's straight-forward monologues about her life, you could probably finish this book in a day, curled up on a blanket under a tree. That's how I plan to read the sequel.This book is full of gossip and stories, basically bridging gaps between that of Nisa's world and my own. She's an outsider's insider: just weird enough to be out on the fringes of the !Kung and thus accessible to Shostak. But that becomes a problem later on the book -- Nisa's peers have warned the author that Nisa lies, but it's not until Nisa tells a rather impressive story about herself that Shostak begins to dismiss her as unreliable.Which makes me think that the only reason Shostak published the book is that she'd spent too much time on Nisa not to. And that's why I'm not giving Shostak's work a full five stars -- I liked Nisa a heck of a lot more than I liked Shostak based on this work.Is Nisa a liar? Or is the... read more

This is a fascinating account of women of another culture

By A Customer - February 16, 1999

The author's method of giving an anthropologist's perspective on a particular topic followed by Nisa's stories relating to the same topic was a wonderful balance of the scientific and the personal. I enjoyed this book immensely and it made me think deeply of how different are culture is from our roots as hunter-gatherers.