Made in Madagascar: Sapphires, Ecotourism, and the Global Bazaar (Teaching Culture: UTP Ethnographies for the Classroom)

Made in Madagascar, although not necessarily large in length, holds enough anthropological information and analysis to be deemed a large book. Andrew Walsh uses his trip to Madagascar to show how tourism plays into a seemingly untapped piece of Africa, and thus into the world as a whole. Between his introduction, four meaty chapters, and questionable conclusion, he goes through the industries of Ankarana, specifically the sapphire trade, as well as work of local guides, and the general tourist attractions that it boasts. I would say that the book is rather dense for someone who either is not a student of anthropology, setting out to be one, or has any past expertise in the area; the point of the book is clear in that it sets out to look deeper into ecotourism and how we as humans almost force the tourist lifestyle on cultures who have no other way to thrive. However, the way in which Walsh brings about these points is not an easy, nor the most enjoyable read. This is not to bash on the book, as it is clear that Walsh is an extremely knowledgeable anthropologist, as well as credited writer. But for an undergraduate student who is more interested in the markets themselves rather than how the markets are formed based off of tourism pressure, it is not the most enjoyable read. Even more important to note, I found, was the odd nature of Walsh’s conclusion. He bases it around the question “So What?” as a way to get the reader to see why this book is important to anthropology, as so many other books claim to be. I feel as though this chapter, or end note, kind of collapses the book in on itself, because it disregards his findings to say that this book in of itself is another piece of tourism. He ends us asserting the claim, whether intentional or not, that anthropologists, by studying, add to the tourist systemic market. I commend Walsh on the way on which he got a non-anthropologist-minded undergraduate student to think deeper about how we force tourism on impoverished or otherwise lacking cultures, but I am not sure if, after his conclusion, we should commend him after all.

Andrew Walsh displays has a passion for Madagascar and Malagasy people through his extensive studies of the way that they live and the way they progress as people. His extensive examples and quotes from people add validity to his research and theories. This is different from other anthropological writers like Dean MacCannell, who wrote The Tourist. MacCannell makes many claims and presents many theories that have no backing. Walsh’s ideas of the global bazaar and ecotourism are fascinating and his inclusion of excerpts from the locals allow the readers, who are essentially tourists themselves, get a glimpse of the perspective of ethnographers. As a tourist myself I was able to get a so called “authentic” glimpse into the lives of the locals and their everyday endeavors of sapphire mining. It is unclear if Walsh sees ecotourism as a positive or negative in Madagascar. I am not sure if this was purposeful, but it allows the readers to form their own opinions. There are times when the quotes from the direct sources are too extensive and the writing changes from factual to conversational. Again Walsh differs from many other anthropological authors. It is a good book to read for an anthropology class considering the role of tourism in cultures and the world. Some of the chapters bring up good discussion points especially when considering the difference between the social and the natural world. I would recommend reading this book as extra or optional reading in an anthropological class, but because of the specificity of the study, I would not recommend this to understand the workings of society.

Interesting read - really enjoyed

book arrived in time and the book was like new if not new .... loved it .. enjoyed reading it for my athropology class

Review: I’ll admit that my knowledge on the country of Madagascar was very limited prior to reading this text. Sure, I knew that its exotic biodiversity was being threatened, but this ethnography was an eye-opener in more ways than one.Firstly, it explores the Malagasy ecotourism and sapphire trade and the tensions between those who benefit from the preservation of the environment, and those who benefit from the exploitation of it. Walsh looks into the Ankarana National Reserve (a wildlife park) in the north of Madagascar and the illegal mining that occurs there that completely opposes the cultural sacredness that the great massifs hold for “the ancestors” of the land. What I found particularly interesting was the shift occurring in local villages, from a kinship based system of relationships towards one of artificial ties due to the itinerant lifestyle of the miners.Another interesting part was on the topic of "natural" and how the lure of something natural attracts the market that it does. I didn't even know there are now labratory-made sapphires that are incredibly hard to differentiate from the naturals. Perhaps the thing that struck me however, was how Walsh elucidates on the value of knowledge and other tools of the trade that are crucial to both the sapphire traders and sellers/miners. The anthropologist brings up the fact that most, if not all Malagasy people who are involve in this trade have little knowledge of what the sapphires they sell will become - in fact, many of them scoff at the thought that they will become jewelry, as Walsh tells them. Because even if they knew, they "can't eat the sapphires" so it would be of little significance to them.I personally found the way in which the chapters were organized threw me back a little, as there would be 4 or 5 consecutive chapters on the sapphire trade, and then it would turn to ecotourism right out of the blue. The writing itself is very well done and I'm glad that the anthropologist remained faithful to his ideas rather than telling his own little stories during his research in Madagascar. As a reading, I feel that it supplemented the university very well, while still being the sort of book I recommend to people who simply want to read up on Madagascar and the negative implications its very own sapphire and ecotourism trade is having on the people.Walsh is clearly a man who has delved far into the situation at hand, and from the "googling" I've done he seems to be one of the few anthropologists out there that ties the concepts of destructive globalization to Madagascar's two particular trades. If you are looking to supplement your reading of this subject, I suggest the numerous other articles and journals that he's written about the subject.Wrap up: Like I said in the opening lines of my review, the book is an eye-opener. During the course of my university studies, I've read a handful of other ethnographies but this remains as one of my favorites. It's easy to navigate through, very thoughtfully written, and concerns itself with a global condition that continues to polarize the rich and poor countries. It is possible that you may have to come to your own conclusions and the question of "how" things come to be this way is not directly answered, but that isn't something that one should look for in an anthropological work anyway.

As a student this book was well laid out, clearly explaining for a good understanding of concepts and ideas. It is a useful tool as a anthropological example directed for my demographic thus I had the ability to relate and make inferences.