Help me find these books on primitive navigation & diaspora

August 5, 2004 10:23 PM

Okay. I have two books from my past that I would very much like to track down... but I can't recall the titles.

The first was a well-illustrated book for young readers that talked about "primitive" navigation --- a specific image I remember is their describing how Polynesian seafarers would watch the shape of the waves to discern where islands lay, and the image was of an island and showed how the waves would change shape as they went around.

This book was from back between 1980 and 1985 (or thereabouts).

The second book came out between 1995 and 2000... it had a black cover and was called "tribe" or something like that, and talked about the various diasporas --- and their commonalities. It spoke of the Jewish diaspora and the Chinese diaspora, the Irish diaspora and even the nascent Mormon diaspora.

Any help would be appreciated.

posted by silusGROK to Society & Culture (9 answers total)

While we are on this topic, I've been searching for a pulpy SF novel from the 1980s where a young man has a bionic implant in his hand which allows him to be a much more accurate shot than his enemies. I cannot, for the life of me, remember the title or the author.

Any help would be appreciated.
posted by gen at 12:17 AM on August 6, 2004

This might be the book about the diasporas, although it has a much longer title than Tribe! There's also Losing a Lost Tribe, which touches upon the same subjects as well.
posted by iconomy at 3:07 AM on August 6, 2004

Response by poster: Thanks, iconomy... but neither of those are the one.

*continues to cross fingers that the AskMefi angel will grant wish*
posted by silusGROK at 9:38 AM on August 6, 2004

Tribes: How Race, Religion, and Identity Determine Success in the New Global Economy
by Joel Kotkin ?
posted by milovoo at 10:40 AM on August 6, 2004

Here's a couple guess for the navigation ones:

We the Navigators

and

The Last Navigator
posted by tetsuo at 10:42 AM on August 6, 2004

oops..sorry about that
posted by tetsuo at 10:43 AM on August 6, 2004

Response by poster: Yay! Thanks Milovoo: it _was_ the Kotkin book. Man I loved that book.

Tetsuo: Not those, either... But thanks!
posted by silusGROK at 12:16 PM on August 6, 2004

silusGROK - you can triangulate on the Polynesian book, maybe, through my recent Wade Davis post in the blue. Davis, in the first or second link I believe, mentions those wave-listening Polynesian navigators.
posted by troutfishing at 1:18 PM on August 6, 2004

Response by poster: Thanks troutfishing!
posted by silusGROK at 1:40 PM on August 6, 2004