cover image West of the Thirties

West of the Thirties

Edward T. Hall. Doubleday Books, $21.95 (187pp) ISBN 978-0-385-42421-9

From 1933 to 1937, noted anthropologist Hall ( The Hidden Dimension Beyond ) worked as a camp manager for the Indian equivalent of the Civilian Conservation Corps at Navajo and Hopi reservations in Arizona. The job entailed blasting rocks, building earthen dams and repairing vestigial roads. Young and inquisitive, he became attuned to the distinct Hopi and Navajo ways of life. Hall came under the tutelage of the legendary trader Lorenzo Hubbell, who was equally at home in Hopi, Navajo, Hispanic and Anglo cultures. At that time, the traders and representatives of the federal government were the only outside contacts for the Indians. Hall became convinced that the Hopi and Navajo were the products of complex, sophisticated rational cultures. He gives an engaging picture of the period. (Mar.)