In this acclaimed book, Torgovnick explores the obsessions,

fears, and longings that have produced Western views of the

primitive. Crossing an extraordinary range of fields

(anthropology, psychology, literature, art, and popular

culture), Gone Primitive will engage not just

specialists but anyone who has ever worn Native American

jewelry, thrilled to Indiana Jones, or considered buying an

African mask.

"A superb book; and—in a way that goes beyond what

being good as a book usually implies—it is a kind of gift to

its own culture, a guide to the perplexed. It is lucid,

usually fair, laced with a certain feminist mockery and

animated by some surprising sympathies."—Arthur C. Danto,

New York Times Book Review

"An impassioned exploration of the deep waters beneath Western primitivism. . . . Torgovnick's readings are deliberately, rewardingly provocative."—Scott L. Malcomson, Voice Literary Supplement