Omer Call Stewart was a man with many missions. He was among the first to study the use of the hallucinogen peyote in the Native American Church, and he was a stalwart defender of Native American religious freedom in many influential court cases. Omer Stewart was a student of Alfred Kroeber and produced important ethnographies of various Ute, Paiute, and other American Indians in the western U.S. He began his religious life as a Mormon and ended his life as an atheist who sincerely supported and respected people's religious commitments. He was a longtime teacher and practitioner of anthropology who embodied what it means to be a social scientist. Cannibalism is an Acquired Taste is his life's story.

Carol Howell's book on Stewart is a wonderful blend of family stories, good science, and the early history of American anthropology. Howell has compiled a series of interviews with Stewart and his family, pertinent letters from Margaret Mead, Ruth Bunzel, and other contemporaries of Stewart, and manuscripts that illustrate key points in an anthropologist's life. The book could have been a wild melange, but instead it wonderfully illustrates Stewart's many interests and wide range of involvement. This mix of views makes the book appropriate for a variety of audiences, ranging from people interested in anthropology to those simply interested in the life of one of the more interesting personalities of the twentieth century. Throughout, the blunt honesty and yet true humility of Stewart shines through.

For an anthropologist, Stewart's life is an alluring case study of how a professional comes into being. The passion and mistakes of a young anthropologist are clear in Stewart's early work with Julian Stewart and Alfred Kroeber. His journey from being a committed Mormon disciple to being a practicing scientist devoted to understanding the wide-ranging aspects of human culture is fascinating for anyone who has seen their own life change. From the 1930s to the 1970s Stewart constantly found himself in the midst of the key controversies and central areas of anthropological research. His life traces the change from Indians being non-citizens to their being active participants in national politics and issues. As an anthropologist, I can't think of a better or more fully described life of a student of culture.

For the curious lay-person, the honesty of this account of Omer Stewart's life is striking. He serves as a wonderful cursor tracing many of the changes of the twentieth century. From his travels as a Mormon missionary in the twenties to his discovery of anthropology in the thirties to his service to the Chief of Staff in the Pentagon in the forties, the first half of his life illustrates the radical shift in U.S. policy from isolation to world leader. The second half of his life cuts a course of social activism in racial integration, Indian religious freedom, and scientific debate. For Stewart, the practical consequences and rightness of an endeavor often weighed more heavily in his decisions than did anthropological theory or the opinions of his mentors. At times, we--the curious voyeurs--want to know more about issues such as Stewart's friendship with famous people such as Robert Redford--the Sundance resort is on the old Stewart ranch above Provo Canyon--but the focus on this biography is squarely on Stewart and the issues at hand, not on gossip.

I recommend the book highly to anyone who is interested in the practice of anthropology or in the active pursuit of Native American rights. Stewart was an anthropologist who did not shy away from a fight for people's rights. In this time when we often do not know what many individuals think or believe, Omer Call Stewart is a bright light illustrating how to live a life that is true to one's convictions. Carol Howell's book is a fascinating synthesis of sources that paints a picture of Stewart that is strikingly on target for those who knew him. Omer Stewart's wit was an acquired taste, but unlike cannibalism, it ultimately worked for the good of humankind.

First presented in the 1950s, yet just as relevant today, Forgotten Fires: Native Americans And The Transient Wilderness by Omer C. Stewart dispels the longstanding cultural myth that Native American communities had no impact on the natural environment surrounding them. Taking a close look at the effects Native American civilization had upon nature's ability to incorporate them into the ecosystem, with an especial eye toward how some regularly used fires to manage plant and animal communities through localized habitat burning, Forgotten Fires is a thoughtful study about mankind's true interaction with the environment, presenting straightforward facts instead of romanticized legend. This highly recommended edition for Native American Studies and Environmental History reference shelves and reading lists has been collaboratively edited by Henry T. Lewis and M. Kat Anderson for the contemporary reader.

"Peyote Religion" has been selected for listing in "Religion and Psychoactive Sacraments: An Entheogen Chrestomathy" http://www.csp.org/chrestomathy