ThegroundbreakingclassicdetailingMargaretMead’sfirstfieldworkatage23,establishingMead’scoreinsightsintochildhoodandculturethatchallengedandchangedourviewoflife.Rarelydoscienceandliteraturecometogetherinthesamebook.Whentheydo--asinCharlesDarwin’sOntheOriginofSpecies,forexample--theybecomeclassics,quotedandstudiedbyscholarsandthegeneralpublicalike.MargaretMeadaccomplishedthisremarkablefeatnotoncebutseveraltimes,beginningwithComingofAgeinSamoa.ItdetailsherhistoricjourneytoAmericanSamoa,takenwhenshewasjusttwenty-three,whereshedidherfirstfieldwork.Here,forthefirsttime,shepresentedtothepublictheideathattheindividualexperienceofdevelopmentalstagescouldbeshapedbyculturaldemandsandexpectations.Adolescence,shewrote,mightbemoreorlessstormy,andsexualdevelopmentmoreorlessproblematicindifferentcultures.Mead’srevolutionarybook,dedicatedtothegirlsofTau,wasoneofthefirststudiestopayattentiontogirls’lives.Herkeenobservationscontainmanyideasthatarestillpowerfultoday--thatsexualityisculturally-shaped,thatadolescenceneednotbestressful,andthatthelivesofadolescentgirlsareworthyofattentionandrespect.Nowthisgroundbreaking,beautifullywrittenworkasbeenreissuedforthecentennialofMead’sbirth,featuringintroductionsbyMaryPipher,Ph.D.(RevivingOphelia)andbyMead’sdaughter,MaryCatherineBateso(ComposingaLife).
