A Death in the Rainforest

How a Language and a Way of Life Came to an End in Papua New Guinea

By: Don Kulick

Narrated by: Paul Woodson

Renowned linguistic anthropologist Don Kulick first went to study the tiny jungle village of Gapun in New Guinea over 30 years ago to document how it was that their native language, Tayap, was dying. But you can't study a language without settling in among the people, understanding how they speak every day, and even more, how they live. This book takes us inside the village as Kulick came to know it, revealing what it is like to live in a difficult-to-get-to village of 200 people, carved out like a cleft in the middle of a swamp, in the middle of a tropical rainforest.

These are fascinating stories of what the people who live in that village eat for breakfast and how they sleep; about how villagers discipline their children, how they joke with one another, and how they swear at one another. Kulick tells us how villagers worship, how they argue, how they die. Finally, though, this is an illuminating look at the impact of white culture on the farthest reaches of the globe - and the story of why this anthropologist realized that he had to leave and give up his study of this language.

Smart, engaging, and perceptive, A Death in the Rainforest takes listeners into a world that will soon disappear forever.

©2019 Don Kulick (P)2019 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

Real world real life

No wonder some astute brilliant anthropologist
has to go deep into the rainforest and live with
work with eat with a unique tribe
They are almost gone forever

Outstanding read

This artfully written and read book captures the hearts (or livers) of a delightful group of people living off the beaten path and reminds us of the wonder of our species. It also is a cautionary tale that comes a century too late.

Outstanding

One of the best narratives and performances I’ve ever listened to. Engaging, informative, funny, thought-provoking - if you are all intrigued by the subject, this is everything you could want or hope for. Highly recommended.

more people need to read this

On top of a good narrator this book was so worth it. incredible story

Good info but also unnecessary left wing political

This book contains good information and is overall well-written. However, the repeated comments on "white privilege" were gratuitous, annoying, and added nothing to the reader's understanding of anything but the author's political views. Such commentary cannot help but make one wonder if a more neutral person would have had a different analysis on some things. The book would have been much better had the author just stuck to the subject matter and used plain descriptions when discrepancies were a substantive part of the analysis. However, the basic facts seem to be well-documented and informative.

Death in a Rainforest

Thinking perhaps that I would have found a book that would take me several weeks to read.... I found I could not stop listening. I could not put it down and finished it in under 24 hours... was a fascinating read fill with colorful descriptions. I found it to be very honest and admire the author’s honest presentation. I highly recommend it.