Rate this book

The Gift Of Thanks: The Roots And Rituals Of Gratitude (2009)

by Margaret Visser(Favorite Author)

3.47 of 5 Votes: 5

ISBN

0151013314 (ISBN13: 9780151013319)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

review 1: This was really repetitive. From the blurb I was expecting a lot more. But essentially, this book is limited to gift-giving. Towards the end it becomes a little… Christian. I wanted it to stay more detached so I could form my own opinion. I wanted more anthropological evidence. The best thing is that 150 pages of this book were footnotes, so it’s not really as daunting as you first think. (That’s not much of a recommendation, is it?)
review 2: wide-ranging historical/sociological/literary/cultural treatise on gratitude and the rituals surrounding expression of thanks.Some interesting angles on cultural differences in whether to wrap gifts, some cute linguistic points (e.g., in the situation in which an American would say approximately "no thanks, I'm fine... more", Greeks say something that translates as "It's going beautifully" -- I think I need to start using that one), some incisive distinctions (e.g., a tip is not a gift because there is no separation in time between the initial offering and the reciprocation, as would be typical in gift or favor exchanges with the exception of some highly stylized events such as Christmas gift exchanges), and overall a pleasant read. But in the end just much too much. There is, at least if this book is evidence, not 400 pages worth of interesting stuff to dig up regarding thanks. less

Download links for: The Gift of Thanks: The Roots and Rituals of Gratitude

Advertising