Kirsten Bell
anthropologist, not the actress.
Silent but Deadly
-
Publication date: 31 October 2022
-
Published by Caw Press
-
Paperback (ISBN: 9781399936323)
-
E-book (ISBN 9781399936330)
-
228 pages, 5 x 8" trim size
-
Available globally via Amazon, Blackwell's, Waterstones, Barnes & Noble, Walmart, Chapters, Booktopia, etc.
-
UK readers can also purchase signed copies directly from Caw Press.
Silent but Deadly
The Underlying Cultural Patterns of Everyday Behaviour
An entertaining anthropological tour through the big answers to life’s little questions.
Why do farts evoke laughter and disgust? Is the aversion to the left hand universal? Are dogs really humankind’s best friend? Why do we tip wait staff but not teachers? Can you still spot the difference between a Brit and an American by their teeth? In Silent but Deadly: The Underlying Cultural Patterns of Everyday Behaviour, Kirsten Bell, an anthropologist who has lived in five countries on four continents—and learned about cultural gaffes by constantly committing them—places our everyday behaviours under the microscope.
Boldly going where no anthropologist has gone before, no topic is too small or insignificant for Bell’s attention, whether it’s the propensity of Brits to place their washing machine in the kitchen, the disinclination of Americans to buy rounds at the pub, Australians’ well-documented obsession with toilet paper, or Canadian sensibilities around swearing. The kind of book Jared Diamond might write if he was more concerned with the meanings of bodily emissions than the collapse of civilizations, Silent but Deadly deciphers the cultural patterns that underlie our everyday quirks, foibles, and habits.
Praise for Silent but Deadly
'Silent but Deadly is one of the best books out there that explains anthropology to a lay audience—I often cite it to non-anthropologists who want to get a sense of the discipline. It is clever, lucid, engaging and easy to read—and has both the credibility to appeal to academic anthropologists and the clarity to make sense to non-academics. A fabulous read—I recommend it strongly' — Gillian Tett, Provost, King's College, University of Cambridge; Chair, Editorial Board, Financial Times; author of Anthro-Vision.
'A politically-engaged anthropology student from Africa once told me that his greatest pleasure was wiping his backside on the college toilet paper—each sheet of which was stamped, "Property of HM Government". Neither of us at the time thought this was the stuff of anthropology but we were wrong. Kirsten Bell in Silent but Deadly brings her learned but witty eye to bear on our most intimate of everyday activities showing how they reveal the unconscious worlds of meaning in which we all live. She may lay your anxieties about tipping to rest but you will never feel safe in the bathroom, kitchen or dentist's chair again though you will certainly laugh — Nigel Barley, author of The Innocent Anthropologist: Notes from a Mud Hut.
'Kirsten Bell is an Australian social anthropologist living in the UK. She writes straight up, no messing about, and she's incredibly funny. Think Erma Bombeck crossed with Jilly Cooper and a dash of Tom Sharpe... Silent but Deadly is an absolute delight' — www.ellentherapist.com.
'[Bell's] aim is to decipher the "cultural patterns that underlie our everyday quirks, foibles and habits," and she does so with a light, witty and self-deprecating personal touch... The book is well-documented with sources from the academic literature, but also spiced up with footnotes telling tales from her own experiences' — The British Columbia Review.