I just couldn't get into this book. I tried multiple times and I really wanted to get more out of it, but it just didn't stick. Maybe it was the writing style, but it just wasn't for me.

I was intrigued and interested by this book, but I was unable to finish reading it. While the topic and information was interesting, the writing style was not for me and I didn’t enjoy reading the book

It took me several weeks to read this book. It's not that it is long or bad, it is that it really messes with your noggin, making you think about things that are likely big issues in your world and life. This is due to the way that the author Tyson Yunkaporta challenges you to rethink how you see your world and your place in it. It is almost like going to a therapist, and you may not always like what you see in the mirror. But if you dare to look. "Sand Talk" will show you a whole different perspective. Some of this is rooted in traditional, indigenous lessons that I feel more people could and should value. It's not an easy read, but if is hugely rewarding and if more people took up the lessons in this tome, the world would probably be a better place. Read it, but take your time and parcel it out, allowing your brain time to digest each lesson and anecdote before proceeding to the next. You won't regret the investment of time.

The publisher copy states:
"Yunkaporta’s writing process begins with images. Honoring indigenous traditions, he makes carvings of what he wants to say, channeling his thoughts through symbols and diagrams rather than words. He yarns with people, looking for ways to connect images and stories with place and relationship to create a coherent world view, and he uses sand talk, the Aboriginal custom of drawing images on the ground to convey knowledge. "
I am not sure that this is really successful, although it does describe the approach. I find it rather hard to follow and the logic unconvincing, although I am in accord with the intent. It will be interesting to see how the public responds to this unique insightful approach!

This book does a good job of showing that there are fundamental differences in philosophy, worldview, and perspective between indigenous / aboriginal peoples and the rest of the world. It’s fair to say that differences exist between any two different cultures, but the argument is that these are deeper and more profound. Said differences run from how one visualizes abstractions to how one views and interacts with nature to one’s go-to pronouns.

What the book does not do, not by any means, is honor its sub-titular promise to show how changing to aboriginal modes of thinking would save the world. It doesn’t even strongly demonstrate that the world needs saving. Instead, it relies heavily on the looming sentiment among many in the modern world (myself included) that the world is FUBAR [if needed, please look it up.] That sentiment is what draws people to the book in the first place. (And to others, e.g. Daniel Quinn’s “Ishmael” books, that argue for overturning modernity in favor indigenous ways.) While I, too, feel the imminent fall of modernity on a visceral level, I also recognize that this inevitable collapse is a combination of fact and fiction, and that its bases are as well. So, in some sense, Yunkaporta’s book is an exercise in preaching to the choir. Because of this, it only tweaks and clarifies the reader’s philosophy and mode of thinking (sometimes in clever and fascinating ways,) but it doesn’t vastly overturn a reader’s thinking. But even if it did completely change modes of thought and philosophies, those things don’t automatically change behavior. And saving the world (if the world needs saving) requires changes in behavior. Ultimately, one needs to know whether, how, and to what degree incentives change. (FYI – the importance of incentives is not lost on Yunkaporta, as he discusses them himself in another context.)

That said, there were many ideas that resonated with me, and in which I found deep truths. I’ll go straight to what may be the most controversial idea in the book and that is that modernity’s discomfort with – and desire to do away with -- every form of [non-state sanctioned] violence has not been without cost. Yunkaporta is not justifying domestic violence (although the perception – justified or not – that such acts are out-of-control in aboriginal populations is likely an impetus for bringing up the subject.) What he seems to be arguing is that what seems like a disproportionate problem of violence in aboriginal populations derives from looking at what is happening in tribal communities through the lens of modernity, and the resultant tinge blows things out of proportion while missing part of the truth of the matter.

I’ll elaborate how I came to have a similar view through the study of martial arts. For example, when I’ve traveled to Thailand, I’ve always had mixed feelings about child Thai-boxing. On the one hand, I recognize a reason for concern about concussions in a brain that’s not fully developed. On the other hand, those children display a combination of emotional control, politeness, and self-confidence that seems in decay in much of the world. On a related note, I think that the lack of coming-of-age ritual might be failing the kids in the modern world because they skip a step that puts a bedrock of self-confidence under their feet. As a result, it’s not that they all end up milquetoast, some end up murderous because they can’t process challenging emotions effectively, they have a feeling of powerlessness gnawing at them, and they have no grasp of how to moderate their response under challenging conditions.

As far as ancillary matter is concerned, it’s mostly line-drawn diagrams that are used to show how aboriginal people depict various concepts under discussion.

I enjoyed the book and found many new ideas to consider. I’d recommend it for individuals interested in approaches to thinking and problem solving – and for those who want to learn more about indigenous populations. Just don’t think you’ll have a map to fix the world at the end.

As far as I'm concerned, this book is in a category all by itself. I have never read a book that has touched on so many differing concepts, viewpoints and worldviews, while keeping it's integrity in check, witty humor up front. and love for all humanity at the center. I guess I've never read such a book, because that means it would have had to be written by such a person that has actually walked the walk and attained the skill to actually pull it off. It's as if all the turmoil and torment as well as success and insight Tyson has gained in this life has made it possible to do what I've thought (until now) impossible to do- and that is bring forth an authentic interpretation of an indigenous worldview for the west in a language they can understand, while at the same time NOT understand, yet after reading, have the DESIRE to understand. Who does that?! ! My answer is Tyson Yunkaporta, and you'd be missing out on something extraordinary if you didn't read this book! Real Talk! Sand Talk is what the world needs right now.

A mind boggling look into Aboriginal beliefs, customs, and ways of thinking. I will be reading it again, working on absorbing some of its wisdom. The opening comparison of Western religions arcing story of good vs. evil vs their story of problems arising when people believe they are better than others sets the tone for listening to the wisdom of others. Excellent story telling blended with clear explanations of cultural concepts.

This book is extraordinary it shows us the indigenous culture, perspective, it will definitely broaden the mind.

This book was unlike anything else I have ever read. A very delightful and intriguing read.

I got an ARC of this book.

Let me preface this with I am white. I have no idea what my actual genetic make-up is or even a family history beyond that of my parents and most of my grandparents. Some of the ideas in this book are so drastically against what I have been taught that they are difficult to approach and others worked so well they had me reexamining my life immediately. So expect an even more Isaiah review than normal.

This is not a traditional book in the sense that it does not follow a linear path. There is actually a section of the book devoted to how time works. The idea of linear vs nonlinear is a dichotomy that is enforced by people based on their thought processes is just mind boggling at first. So cool start. This made me start questioning my idea of time, though I am still firmly in the camp of linear thinking I can acknowledge and hopefully respect the camp of thinking outside of linear time. The lessons are imparted as part of yarns and stories. The way the stories are told follow the way that people speak with their families and close friends. There are little explanations here and there, there are seemingly irrelevant tangents that actually come back to the point, and just because you start with turtles doesn't mean turtles are actually related at all. This method of speaking I think is what made me enjoy the book, even when it wasn't making the most sense to me. It felt like it was a conversation and not a lecture. It felt like I could have engaged with the author to learn more if we were face to face instead of relying on written words, which I think just brilliantly conveys part of the message of the book which is you can and should continue to learn all the time and from everyone. 

The idea that learning has been forced to be relegated to children is fascinating. The history of education is drastically different than the one I had learned, which honestly makes a lot more sense than what I had originally learned and is a lot less innocent. The way that this simple explanation for public schools worked and was so different from what I was taught in public schools really highlights the idea that there are different ways of seeing things. The exact same thing is so drastically different depending on who you are. It may be the destructive emu in me, but I don't think I can fully take this lesson to heart when it comes to certain groups. What do I stand to learn from groups that advocated for the killing of trans people? The only thing I have learned is to hate myself for being trans and that has taken so many years of therapy to undo. So I am a bit skeptical, but also super enthralled with this idea. I want to learn and stay learning. How do I keep learning when it seems destructive at times to do so? Am I really learning if I am just embracing other peoples destructive emu thoughts? So much to consider and over think.

The section on gender was fascinating. I have always heard that the gender roles have been supremely fixed and that is why people have evolved the way they have. It never felt right to me (surprise). This new look and not new information (though new to me as it has been kept hidden, since it did not reinforce what is seen as gender existentialism) made me feel so much more whole in my body.  Imagine being told everything you learned that made you hide part of yourself is a lie. Creating and crafting is not just for women. Hunting is not just for men. The idea that these categories were ever "natural" was based on false ideas and over extrapolations to find a gender norm that enslaved people. I gave up something I loved for years to fit into a more traditional "male" role to be allowed to get hormones. I had to play a part that was both unhealthy and unnatural to be allowed to be myself. Though if I stopped playing the role, I risked being alienated and not being enough to the group I belonged to. All of this based on the idea that men are strong and women are weaker. Imagine how fragile masculinity is if a little bit of glitter can undo it. (Imagine that trans people are trans enough without dysphoria and that you are trans enough.)

There was a lot in this book. I have only just barely touched the surface of it. I have also only told the parts that already impacted me. In a few weeks or a few months, I may have a drastically different view of this book as I continue to think and view the world. This is one of those books that helps to change the way you see things and the way you see yourself, if you can let go of your ego to see how others think.

Written by an Aboriginal scholar, this book is about how indigenous thinking can be applied to large-scale world issues in order to achieve a sustainable society. Yunkaporta makes a point of expanding beyond the truncated view of sustainability as related solely to environmental topics. He emphasizes the importance of holistic worldview that is based in understanding systems and listening to the land. ⁣
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I learned so much from this book. He tackles complex issues by using metaphor and visualization — one example of the application of indigenous approaches to storytelling and knowledge-sharing. His writing is unflinching and at times self-deprecating. He is a scholar in the western, credential-happy sense of the word, but he makes a point of being humble and amplifying voices of traditional knowledge keepers. It’s very clear that Yunkaporta put a ton of thoughtful effort into the compilation of this work.⁣
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My one criticism — thus 4 stars instead of 5 — is one that Yunkaporta himself acknowledges. At the start, he mentions that he was hesitant to write the book at all, as written words are antithetical to indigenous knowledge-sharing and become outdated the moment they are written. His hesitance comes through at points with harder-to-follow logic that seems a little under-developed. That said, there were plenty of sections when I was convinced he was making a brilliant point and I simply couldn’t wrap my head around it. You definitely get the sense that you are learning from someone who has figured out a way to unlock some next-level brainpower! ⁣

Sand Talk is a powerful and evocative conversation about applying one's worldview to every aspect of life. In the author's case, he shares with us his perspective as an aboriginal indigenous Australian. Yunkaporta shares his experiences as he invites us to visit a part of Australia many never knew about or chose to ignore. He "yarns" with us about the true meaning of being connected to the land and the responsibility of both being given and sharing knowledge. Sand Talk is a unique book that invites the reader to consider a paradigm shift in how they perceive history and have been taught to relate to the world.

I’m sorry I tried several times to read this book. Just couldn’t get into it. Perhaps I just need more fun during this lockdown period. Will try again in a few weeks.

I found this book difficult to follow. Jumping from viewpoint to yarning, history to modern day, espousing thoughts and difficulties. The author even states he finds this frustrating.