0
Your cart

Your cart is empty

Books > Biography > Historical, political & military

Buy Now

The Most Offending Soul Alive - The Life of Tom Harrison (Hardcover) Loot Price: R3,035
Discovery Miles 30 350
The Most Offending Soul Alive - The Life of Tom Harrison (Hardcover): Judith M. Heimann

The Most Offending Soul Alive - The Life of Tom Harrison (Hardcover)

Judith M. Heimann

 (sign in to rate)
Loot Price R3,035 Discovery Miles 30 350 | Repayment Terms: R284 pm x 12*

Bookmark and Share

Expected to ship within 10 - 15 working days

An English eccentric and adventurer, Tom Harrisson (1911-1976) sought knowledge and renown in a dizzying number of fields, while breaking most of the rules of "civilized" society. This hugely enjoyable story of his extravagant, controversial life offers a sympathetic and insightful look at a charismatic figure who offended as many people as he impressed at the twilight of colonialism on the fringes of the British empire.

By age twenty-one, Harrisson had carried out pioneering ornithological research and explored the flora and fauna of Northern Borneo. While still in his twenties, he wrote a best-selling book based on his experiences living among cannibals in the South Pacific. The next decade found Harrisson applying the techniques of bird-watching to his fellow Britons in what became Mass-Observation, a precursor to modern market research. Later, he won the DSO for parachuting into Borneo behind enemy lines and organizing an army of blow-piping headhunters who eventually killed more than a thousand Japanese soldiers.

After the war Harrisson settled in Borneo, where, as curator of the Sarawak Museum, he transformed it into a model and inspiration for the region; he led efforts to save the orangutan, the green sea turtle, and other endangered species; he discovered the oldest modern human skull known at the time; he published widely in the scientific and popular press, and appeared frequently on the BBC and British television.

A man with tremendous breadth of interest and vision, Harrisson continually sought ways to connect knowledge across disciplines, alienating in the process more narrowly focused alien academics who resented his encroachments -- and his lack of a universitydegree. Yet a number of his ideas, particularly in anthropology and archaeology, seem modern today.

The Most Offending Soul Alive is the rousing and compelling story of a man who has been called one of the most remarkable men of his generation. It portrays an individual of irresistible energy, magnetism, and imagination, but also shows Harrisson to be an emotionally troubled man, who spent much of his life fighting to gain respect from the academic world, despite the fact that he despised many of its values. A hard-drinking, hard driving egotist, full of ambition, curiosity, and pent-up rage, he never had -- during his long career and afterwards -- the recognition he sought and deserved for his many achievements.

General

Imprint: University of Hawaii Press
Country of origin: United States
Release date: 2000
First published: December 1999
Authors: Judith M. Heimann
Dimensions: 230 x 160 x 35mm (L x W x T)
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 480
ISBN-13: 978-0-8248-2149-4
Categories: Books > Language & Literature > Biography & autobiography > Historical, political & military
Books > Humanities > History > British & Irish history > From 1900 > General
Books > History > British & Irish history > From 1900 > General
Books > Biography > Historical, political & military
Promotions
LSN: 0-8248-2149-1
Barcode: 9780824821494

Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate? Let us know about it.

Does this product have an incorrect or missing image? Send us a new image.

Is this product missing categories? Add more categories.

Review This Product

No reviews yet - be the first to create one!

You might also like..

100 Mandela Moments
Kate Sidley Paperback R250 R223 Discovery Miles 2 230
Damaged Goods - The Rise and Fall of Sir…
Oliver Shah Paperback  (1)
R306 R279 Discovery Miles 2 790
The Accidental Mayor - Herman Mashaba…
Michael Beaumont Paperback  (5)
R270 R154 Discovery Miles 1 540
Albertina Sisulu
Sindiwe Magona, Elinor Sisulu Paperback R160 Discovery Miles 1 600
Reclaiming The Soil - A Black Girl's…
Rosie Motene Paperback R298 Discovery Miles 2 980
Paul Kruger - Toesprake En…
Johan Bergh Hardcover  (3)
R396 Discovery Miles 3 960
Sala Kahle, District Six
Nomvuyo Ngcelwane Paperback R274 Discovery Miles 2 740
Churchill & Smuts - The Friendship
Richard Steyn Paperback  (6)
R310 R277 Discovery Miles 2 770
Black Like You - An Autobiography
Herman Mashaba, Isabella Morris Paperback  (4)
R300 R277 Discovery Miles 2 770
The Man Who Founded The ANC - A…
Bongani Ngqulunga Paperback  (9)
R370 R342 Discovery Miles 3 420
Conversations With A Gentle Soul
Ahmed Kathrada, Sahm Venter Paperback  (3)
R190 R173 Discovery Miles 1 730
Mokgomana - The Life Of John Kgoana…
Peter Delius, Daniel Sher Paperback R260 R240 Discovery Miles 2 400

See more

Partners