Margaret Mead's books

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Margaret Mead reading a book

Margaret was an accomplished author. Here is a few of the books she has written and a brief synopsis.


Coming of Age In Samoa

Coming Of Age In SamoaThis "psychological study of primitive youth for Western civilization," originally published in 1928, is a stunning piece of anthropological fieldwork that became a bestseller. It is a systematic description of the varied activities that help educate one to one's culture


Letters from the Field

Letters from the FieldMargaret Mead was famous for keeping in touch with a wide circle of friends as we see in this collection of wonderfully revealing correspondence from the field. Written over a period of half a century, these letters to friends, family, and colleagues detail her first fieldwork in Samoa and go on to record her now famous anthropological endeavors in mainland New Guinea, the Admiralty Islands, and Bali.


Male and Female

Male and FemaleMargaret Mead's classic study of gender roles was first published in 1949. Beginning with an account of sex roles amoung people of the pacific, it proceeds to a procative analysis of sexual patterns in the United States.


Sex and Temperament in Three Primitive Societies

Sex and Temperament in Three Primitive SocietiesFirst published in 1935, Sex & Temperament in Three Primitive Societies is a fascinating and brilliant anthropological study of the intimate lives of three New Guinea tribes from infancy to adulthood. Focusing on the gentle, mountain-dwelling Arapesh, the fierce, cannibalistic Mundugumor, and the graceful headhunters of Tchambuli -- Mead advances the theory that many so-called masculine and feminine characteristics are not based on fundamental sex differences but reflect the cultural conditioning of different societies.


Designed by: Heather Rodriguez, Mary Barzelay & David Spencer