Amazon Town: A Study of Human Life in the Tropics

Charles Wagley (1913-1991) was an American anthropologist specializing in rural Latin America. His principal focus was Brazil, where he is considered one of the founders of contemporary Brazilian Anthropology. He made major contributions to the concept of cultural areas for Latin America (including a typology of subcultures for the region) and to the notion that race was a cultural construct. He conducted extensive research in the Amazon among indigenous and peasant peoples. Out of the latter came his classic description of peasant life (e.g. rubber tappers) in the Amazon- Amazon Town. Co-authors Conrad Kottak and Richard Pace have revised and updated Charles Wagley's Amazon Town to coincide with Wagley's 100th birthday in late 2013. Revisions include a new foreword by Conrad Kottak, and a new preface and chapter by Richard Pace.