Wisdom Sits in Places: Landscape and Language Among the Western Apache Free Audiobook Download by Keith H. Basso

One of the most fascinating aspects of this book is the way it focuses on the American Southwest, a region that was yet to be explored by Europeans at this point in time. The beauty of these natural landscapes and the way they are seen and described can significantly illuminate our understanding of how indigenous people see their world.

This is the first of two books by Keith H. Basso that explore the cultural notion of landscape in his study of the Western Apache, a Native American tribe from Arizona. The second book, "Wisdom Sits in Places: Language and Landscape Among the Western Apache," looks at how landscapes are transcribed into language, as well as how language shapes landscapes.

This book is written by a professor of anthropology and it is part anthropological, part historical and part linguistic. It starts off with the group of Western Apache that they researched in their study, but the prose quickly spreads out to encompass a variety of other perspectives and time periods.

Wisdom Sits in Places: Landscape and Language Among the Western Apache is a study of Western Apache use of space for spiritual and material reasons. Basso's book provides an ethnographic study of the Western Apache, their land and their language. The field recordings were made during the 1940s, 50s and 60s as part of a Bureau of Indian Affairs project that was designed to enlighten American government officials on tribal culture.

In 1889 a Jesuit priest, Fr. Girolamo Benzoni, traveled with Geronimo from Mexico to Arizona on an expedition in search of the Apache's homeland. As they rode through the desert, the priest recorded their conversations:

One of the most elaborate and purposeful stories in Native American Literature is that of the Western Apache. In this novel, Keith H. Basso delves deep into the heart of a culture trying to find itself culturally, spiritually and economically amidst great upheaval. Basso's book is not only an engaging read but also an important document that shows us how people adapt to change when they are given the necessary tools.