The myth of the noble savage - Ellingson, Terry Jay 1944- (University of California Press, 2001)
Includes bibliographical references (pages 357-423) and index
Ellingson's narrative follows the career of anthropologist John Crawfurd, whose political ambition and racist agenda were well served by his construction of what was manifestly a myth of savage nobility. Generations of anthropologists have accepted the existence of the myth as fact, and Ellingson makes clear the extent to which the misdirection implicit in this circumstance can enter into struggles over human rights and racial equality