Re: good, clear writing

wilkr (wilkr@INDIANA.EDU)
Tue, 5 Apr 1994 10:20:55 -0500

I second the suggestion of Fred Bailey as a clear writer. His prose is
always a pleasure, though his ideas are never simple or simplistic. I
recently picked up his "The Prevalence of Deceit" and read the whole
thing through in a couple of nights, staying up till 3 AM. How many
anthropology books can you say THAT about?

Two more favorites for clear strong prose: Donald Donham (History,
Power, Ideology is the clearest book on neo-marxism that I have ever
read) and Bill Roseberry. Both take political economy, a subject usually
mired in mounds of horrible gibberish, and cut right to the cool clear
sense at the center.

BTW, for those tormented by Bourdieu's prose (I have been reading
Distinction for about 6 years now), Richard Jenkins has a book called
"Pierre Bourdieu" which does for PB what Devereaux did for Talcott
Parsons - gets it translated into understandable prose.

Rick Wilk