I was gratified that Dr. Grinker wrote this book because Colin Turnbull was my cousin, and I knew almost nothing about him. I echo the postive comments by the other reviewers, but what made the book special for me were the references to his family and his relations with them. Dr. Grinker does a wonderful job of not bringing his personal feelings about Colin's work, his homosexuality, or his relationship with Joe Towles into the book. Grinker does, however, give a wonderful sense of Colin and Colin's take on life. One doesn't have to be interested in either anthropology or homosexuality to like this book; it is, simply put, an excellent study of an all-too-human man.

Quite naturally biographers are frequently drawn to understand some famous person's contribution to history or the world of ideas and letters. Such stories inevitably involve that famous person rubbing shoulders with some other famous person and we lucky readers gain insights into a world we thought we had already known. Grinker's biography of Colin Turnbull takes an entirely different tack. He tells the story of an apparently second rate anthropologist -- if he was an anthropologist at all -- but a character of the first order. And through his incredibly rich life, we are introduced to, among other things, English boarding school, Indian ashrams, the world of the Pygmies and other African peoples, death row, academic intrigue, and a bizarre relationship with his true love. Grinker spins the tale deftly and is a delightful tour guide through the life of a man who had an uncommon zest for adventure and a passion for the world.

This is a terrific biography about a fascinating 20th century mind: Colin Turnbull. What a life Turnbull had from academia to ashrams, Africian culture to the African queen, homoerotic british school boys to the emergence of the gay bar scene in 1960's New York, the devastation of WW II to the devastation of HIV, and above all a profound love story. Richard Grinker does a marvelous job of recreating the personal life of one of the centuries great intellects. This is a fascinating work on so many levels. It traces the development of an important new contribution ot the study of man while keeping the reader step by step in touch with the man who added a humanistic and compassionate insight to the field of Anthropology. Mr. Grinker lends his considerable psychological and anthropological insight to helping the reader understand who and what this great man was. I strongly recommend this book to any reader who wants a gripping read about an extraordinary 20th century intellect who ultimately transcends all of his great achievements through love. Five stars to Mr. Grinker.