Quote Originally Posted by HeadlessMermaid View Post
Personally, for all relevant subjects, I hold in high esteem two books: "The Golden Bough" by Frazer, and "The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State" by Engels. They begin from different premises, they are written with a different mindset, they focus on different aspects and they often (not always) reach different conclusions. But I think that looking at things from many points of view is the best way to get the big picture.
As someone who read a lot of 19th and 21st century antropology and sociology books, I have considerable doubt of the accuracy of 19th century writers. Especially when the purpose of the book was to support their personal political agenda.