A History of Anthropology as a Holistic Science defends the holistic scientific approach by examining its history, which is in part a story of adventure, and its sound philosophical foundation. It shows that activism and the holistic scientific approach need not compete with one another. This book discusses how anthropology developed in the nineteenth century during what has been called the Second Scientific Revolution. It emerged in the United States in its holistic four field form from the confluence of four lines of inquiry: the British, the French, the German, and the American. As the discipline grew and became more specialized, a tendency of divergence set in that weakened its holistic appeal. Beginning in the 1960s a new movement arose within the discipline which called for abandoning science as anthropology’s mission in order to convert into an instrument of social change; a redefinition which weakens its effectiveness as a way of understanding humankind, and which threatens to discredit the discipline.

"This is a deeply 'foursquare,' unoriginal history of the discipline of four field American anthropology, from its rise in the 19th century to its intellectual climax from the mid through the late 20th century. This straightforwardness defines the book's primary usefulness as a teaching tool in introductory courses. Regardless of personal passion or version of the telling of American anthropology's history in terms of current stakes, teachers can easily work with this text with its clear prose and coverage of physical anthropology, archaeology, sociocultural anthropology, linguistic anthropology, culture areas, and holism. Deeply imbued with a certain historical faith and pleasure in the discipline, the book blessedly refrains from being too preachy or annoyed with recent 'turns.' The discipline as a whole has given what Custred has needed to be a first-rate Andeanist. But what of the many anthropologists today who define themselves outside the traditional 'culture areas'? They can still learn much from this book. Summing Up: Recommended. All levels/libraries." - CHOICE

"The book is highly readable and clearly argued, offering broad coverage of a plethora of authors, theories, schools, and fieldwork in four national traditions.... I found Glynn Custred’s book both enjoyable and provocative.... [H]is history of the holistic ideal in anthropology is...a welcome contribution to the reflexive awareness of the historicity and theory-laden character of knowledge, an awareness which is essential to the anthropologists’s training and trade. As a plea for the holistic ideal the book also constitutes relevant early 21st-century source material for epistemological analysis itself." - Anthropos