THIS IS THE SECOND TIME I HAVE READ THE BOOK. THE LAST TIME WAS A 110 YEARS AGO IN COLLEGE. MR. HALL MAKES US THINK ABOUT OTHER CULTURES AND ESPECIALLY OUR OWN CULTURE. IN THESE AWFUL TIMES IT IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND OURSELVES AND ONE ANOTHER. MR HALL'S BOOKS HELP WITH THIS. IT IS NOT ENOUGH TO UNDERSTAND A CULTURE'S LANGUAGE AND DRESS. TIME, SPACE, AND OTHER CONTINGENTS ARE JUST OR MORE IMPORTANT.

I read this book for the first time over 20 years ago after I graduated from college with an unrelated science major which I found loathesome and never used. I had already read "The Hidden Dimension" when working with an architect. I am not about to read this one again due to its complexity and the fact it "sunk in" then. Here are some of Hall's highlights:

Ch. 1 (The Paradox of Culture): "One wonders how many individuals who have been forced to adjust to eight-hour, nine-to-five schedules have sacrificed their creativity, and what the social and human cost of this sacrifice has been."

Ch. 3 (Consistency and Life): "He is forced into the position of thinking and feeling that anyone whose behavior is not predictable or is peculiar in any way is slightly out of his mind, improperly brought up, irresponsible, psychopathic, politically motivated to a point beyond all redemption, or just plain inferior."

Ch. 7 (Contexts, High and Low): "... in high context systems, people in places of authority are personally and truly (not just in theory) responsible for the actions of subordinates down to the lowest man. In low context systems, responsibility is diffused throughout the system and difficult to pin down ..."

Ch. 11 (Covert Culture and Action Chains): "The investigation of out-of-awareness culture can be accomplished only by actual observation of real events in normal settings and contexts. ... Culture is therefore very closely related to if not synonymous with what has been defined as "mind".

Ch. 12 (Imagery and Memory): "Our problems in education are exacerbated by eductional systems and philosophies that stress verbal facility at the expense of other important parts of man's mind ..."

Ch. 13 (Cultural and Primate Bases of Education): "One reason psychotherapy is so slow is that in order to change one thing it is necessary to alter the entire psyche, because the different parts of the psyche are functionally interrelated."

Ch. 13: Over bureaucratization: "The problem with bureaucracies is that they have to work hard and long to keep from substituting self-serving survival and growth for their original primary objective. ... Bureaucracies have no soul, no memory and no conscience."

Ch. 14 (Culture as an Irrational Force): "Since the men and women responsible for these [anthropological] studies for the most part are both well trained in Anglo-American social science methodology and well motivated, one can only assume that there is something basically wrong with the way in which social science research is often conducted."

It's amazing to me that the (brilliantly simple) ideas found in this book aren't more a part of public consciousness and discussion, especially 25 years after its publication. These aren't high-flying concepts. They're experimentally proven and frighteningly basic revelations about how humans function, and the fact that they were never a part of my curriculum in one of the best prep schools in the country and then a top Ivy League school simply drives home Hall's point about the state of academia. My only complaint is that the book jumps around quickly and doesn't always spend as much time as I'd like on particular threads. It also isn't particularly actionable, but given its conclusions this is not surprising. I recommend Maps of Meaning by Jordan Peterson for another fascinating look at how the cross-cultural human psyche is configured. It's a powerful counterpoint to the fashionable but vacuous idea that everything in culture is an arbitrary construct, unconnected to millions of years of evolution of the human organism.

This was a superb love story. Johanna was a marvel. I loved her spunk and her love of life. Drummond proved to be a good man. I wanted to have doubts about him but I guess 7 years in prison changes a person. They proved to be wonderful together and made a good family life for Alasdair. I can't wait to read Maiden about Johanna's sister, Meridene.

This is one of the best historical romances I have ever read. You must read this if you like romance. The characters were very devolped, and you felt as if you where one of the characthers. You should all read this book.

The story was so well developed and the characters were unforgettable. Johanna was a strong and intelligent herorine and it was very interesting how the author contrasted her character with her sister Clare's character. I ended up admiring Johanna but I understood how Clare could have made the choices she did. And Drummond was a great hero. Wow what a Man!! He was sensual, sexy,intelligent. I love the authors style of writing ,the story had everything that make a book good- intrigue, sweeping historical events, sexual tension, great characters that you really liked. The child character Alasdair was very well developed and added and extra dimension to the book. I also loved the cover.This is the first time I have read this author and now I am a fan, I want to read all her books!

Edward T. Hall's The Hidden Dimension, perhaps the scariest book (even scarier than 1984) I ever read. Scary, because it isn't fiction, but a rather elaborate essay on anthropology and proxemic behaviour. If Hall's right, things as disregard for other cultures, mindless urban development and demographic growth have generated a behavioral sink in which stress, crime, intolerance and physical and psychic disease grow everyday, and to make things worse, our governments take measures that only accelerate the process. We are all going down the drain.

Ed Hall is one of the preeminent cultural anthropologists of all times. His work, studies, and insights into the rich modern anthropology reflect a life long passion he developed as a teenager in the 1930's Southwest U.S. assigned to work on white-managed WPA crews alongside Navajo workers whose cultural bearings and world views were vastly different than his own people's views.

Hidden Dimensions examines the cultural contexts of space, how peoples define their personal and community spaces as part of their cultural norms.

How far apart or close do people of a similar culture feel comfortable standing or sitting next to one another and in what circumstances? When do you feel someone is "in your space"? This personal comfort zone differs culture to culture. Yours may be different than mine. Hall develops these "proxemics" (proximity) in this book by observing and visiting with peoples from around the globe, and shares the wisdom gained with you so that you might expand your own world views and spatial orientations when mixing with foreign cultures to your own.

Well worth the sheckles to add this great work to your life's library. Collect all of Hall's works.

A fabulous writing on how human beings react to and make use of spacial distance from a physical and psychological viewpoint, i.e.. the study of proxemics. The type of book that should be reissued without fail by the publisher, though it is old, since it is a classic in its field. Actual numerical distances and their effect/use/experience by humans are explained as well as much about eyesight and its abilities. Hall also explains how different Euro cultures (German, French, and others) plus how Americans use space differently. I'm seldom this positive about any book but must give this one a highest rating.

this book takes you on a tour of the land the people and the history of Ghost Ranch New Mexico. the photographs by Janet Russek adn David Scheinbaum are compelling and stunning and expole all aspects of the area. along with the amazing pictures in the book, the essays by well noted southwest historians bring light to the history of the land the people and the union that has occured between the two for cunturies.

The book's author served as Cornell University's Professor Emeritus of Linquistics, so he is far from a fad-flaring fringe-fan of Viking rune-stones. Rather, Professor Hall has, in a very readable-yet-scholarly manner, argued the linguistic and archaeological evidence (corroborated by forensic insights) for the historic authenticity of the Kensington Rune-Stone, with a very helpful interlinear translation, followed by a word-by-word analytical commentary, especially buttressed by contemporary political history events of relevance, all the while using logic and historic philology for analysis. It is a shame that the detractors of the Kensington Rune-stone don't make a good-faith effort to reply to Hall's evidence and logic. To date I have seen no serious scholarship to refute Hall's work in this extreming interesting area of American Viking history. I say that as a viking history lecturer with a history-oriented doctorate that included a minor in European studies, as the author of a few publications on Viking history, as a past Historian for a chapter of the Sons of Norway, and after having served as a Icelandic saga analyst/Viking history lecturer abroad (involving research-related travels to viking history locations in 7 different countries). Sadly, many researchers today judge events in history by a "uniformitarian" approach, e.g., assuming that the "wine-berries" (grapes) of Vinland must match growth conditions under today's climate, as opposed to researching what a place's climate was like 1000 years ago, e.g., by noticing that the Norman Domesday Book of 1086 recorded at least 38 vineyards in England. Hall provides REAL research.
><> JJSJ, a college professor/Viking history lecturer

This is an excellent book which everyone interested in radiation biophysics must have have read. The book has 16 chapters. In the first 6 the emphasis is on physics. In the following 10 chapters, the models for cell survival and the effect of radiation on tissue structures and organisms are discussed in great detail. A must for anyone interested in and trying to understand the "biological" background of radiation protection and radiotherapy.

I was required to buy Visual Anthropology for my Visual Sociology class my sophomore year of college. This is one i didn't sell back to the bookstore after the class was over because it is so useful. It is a great book to help a person learn how to use a camera as a research tool and get the most out of it.

I fell in love with the story of the Duke and Duchess after reading the love letters in this book. The touching and informative letters help the reader to understand the true love between these two lovers and the sacrifice Edward made in order to have his one true love. I don't know any other person who could do that. Certainly not our current Prince of Wales. This book shows that true love is still a powerful thing. Read it if you love history at all. It is more than just love letters. It is also a very good account of the way life was during the Depression.

This captivating memoir vividly describes life in Santa Fe and the surrounding territory before all the changes that came with World War II. The author, a well-known anthropologist, had a fascinating childhood growing up on Canyon Road and attending Los Alamos Boys School before it became the site of the Manhattan Project. Reading about his adventures on the Hopi and Navajo reservations made me wish I could turn back the clock and visit those lands when they were still so remote and untouched. A beautiful, moving book by a man fully engaged with life.

"Wide Ruins" is a wonderful reading experience on an interesting topic. Sallie Wagner weaves a personal tale of her experiences as the trader at Wide Ruins, Arizona, in the 1940's. Her story progresses quickly and she seems to provide enough detail of her experiences without lingering too long on any one topic. She vividly describes the role of the trading post and of the traders. The trading post was a general store, a pawn shop, and a safety deposit box. The traders were resourceful businessmen who could conduct business without any actual money trading hands. They were esteemed residents who helped the Navajo people survive a difficult time in America's history.

This memoir is a significant piece of literature because it was written by one who actually lived in a world that few non-Navajos ever get to see. She decribes the Navajo people and the Navajo culture in a way that makes their time and place real. It is not an academic study by a distant scholar of the culture. It is a personal account of a world that no longer exists, and as such, it is a treasure. I would also recommend "Navajo Trader" by Cladwell Richardson in addition to "Wide Ruins".