“Exchanging Words should . . . be widely read by people interested in conservation, development, and international relations.”—John Walker, Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Anthropology
“The chapters in this book are rather ingeniously organized into sections that take the reader from the center of the Wauja’s village progressively outward into the PIX, Amazonia, and ultimately to foreign spaces, focusing at each step on how Wauja manage their social relations with others through ritualized language and exchange.”—Eric Hoenes del Pinal, The Latin Americanist
“An insightful contribution to scholarship on language, indigeneity, and development politics.”—Zachary Lazarus, Language in Society
“Cultural continuity is . . . an underlying theme throughout the book, and Ball does well in addressing the subtleties and complexities of this issue at various points. The structure of the book brings cohesion to the ethnographically rich material.”—Jessica Fae Nelson, Journal of Linguistic Anthropology
“As a study of language, ritual, and relation building, the book delivers what it promises. Ball has done a fine job of creating a thread of connection through very disparate subjects, and his authorial voice is very appealing.”—Jack David Eller, Reading Religion
