Tribe: Adventures in a Changing World

In 2005, 2006 and 2007 Bruce Parry presented the three seasons of the BBC documentary series Tribe. The short version is that he spent a period of time (around 3 weeks) with an indigenous tribe, immersed in the way they live now. This was an important definition - they didn't want to to show a traditional way the tribes used to live, but how they live now, which parts of their traditions they maintain, how they have altered over time, and what modern attributes they have adopted in their lives.
Bruce is an ex- Royal Marine, pretty adept at the physical side of things - living traditionally without the creature comforts the crew had - tents, food, booze, surviving on the food the tribes eat, and keeping up with their physical activities. What was more interesting, of course, was how he could begin to understand their culture and how they interact with their surroundings - something the indigenous people do much better than us modern vandals.

Series 1 was diverse in that they visited Gabon, India, Indonesia, Ethiopia, Mongolia and Venezuela.
They were picked up for series 2, but with a restriction on cost and therefore travel, so this series was filmed entirely in Ethiopia - with three different tribes. In series 3 they again hit the road visiting Brazil, the Solomon Islands, Russian Siberia, Bhutan, Tanzania and Sarawak (in Malaysian Borneo).

For me I read around about a chapter a day, ie one of the fifteen episodes a day. I have seen some of the tv series - probably around half, but it was probably over 10 years ago. I have some simple recollections of them, but not the specifics. I am not sure how the series would differ from the book, but I get the impression Parry is sharing more of his own thoughts in the book than on the tv series. He certainly shared more about the back of house operations, a lot about the crew and the mechanics of filming the series. Parry is pretty modest, shares the things he did that made him cringe, shared his illnesses, and how he honestly felt during his experiences. He also shares his occasional moments of clarity where something makes a genuine impact on him.

I really enjoyed reading this, it really exceeded my expectations, having picked it up for a dollar, I thought I might read a couple of the chapters about places I have been, then just move on from it quietly.

Other reviewers have said it lacks substance, and isn't real anthropology. I disagree with the first and while the second it true, I wouldn't have expected it to be a textbook, so wasn't disillusioned by that. The BBC logically, would consider it primarily an entertainment, and secondarily a way share the plight of the indigenous people who have so much less say in their own way of life than they have ever had. Parry points out the obvious fact that the indigenous people are far more in touch with ecology and the ecosystem than our industrialised nations, and they live far more lightly on the planet. They should be supported in their way of life and converted to a modern way if that is not their desire. Clearly a tightrope walk of complexity.

Easy reading, enjoyable and hard not to like Parry all the way through.

4 stars.