 | |
| Author | Theodora Kroeber |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Biography |
| Publisher | University of California Press |
Publication date | 1970 |
| Pages | 292 |
| ISBN | 9780520015982 |
Alfred Kroeber: A Personal Configuration is a 1970 biography of the anthropologist Alfred Louis Kroeber, written by Theodora Kroeber. Theodora was married to Alfred between 1926 and his death in 1960. She began writing professionally in the 1950s, after her children were grown: the books she authored included Ishi in Two Worlds (1962). Theodora began a biography of her husband after his death in 1960, but could not complete it before her 1969 marriage to John Quinn, with whose encouragement she published it.[1] The term "configuration" in the title refers to Alfred's exploration of cultural change in his work.[2]
The book covers Alfred Kroeber's entire life, including his childhood in New York City, his education at Columbia University and his work in anthropology under Franz Boas, his eventual employment at the University of California, Berkeley, and a difficult period during which he endured illness and the deaths of his first wife and of Ishi. Approximately half the book covers the period after his second marriage to Theodora, including his various field trips, and his life in retirement. Theodora Kroeber's writing was universally praised by reviewers: anthropologist George W. Stocking Jr. wrote that her "gift for [evocative] and moving descriptive writing" was frequently evident.[3] Reviews also discussed the biography's illumination of Alfred Kroeber's scholarly development and called it a work of value to anthropologists, while others found it wanting as an "intellectual biography".[3]