Political Systems of Highland Burma, by Edmund Leach.

Edmund Leach, whom I am forced to read for one of my courses, has just become my hero. This because of what he wrote at the start of yet another chapter (VIII, entitled "The Evidence from Kachin History") that I was about to go through tonight. I just wanted to record this quote for myself.

"I suppose that the main difficulty that every anthropologist has to face is what to do with the facts. When I read a book by one of my anthropological colleagues, I am, I must confess frequently bored by the facts. I see no prospect of visiting either Polynesia or the Northern Territories of the Gold Coast and I cannot arouse in myself any real interest in the cultural peculiarities of either the Tikopia or the Tallensi. I read the works of Professors Firth and Fortes not from an interest in the facts but so as to learn something about the principles behind the facts. I take it for granted that the vast majority of those who read this book will be in a similar position with regard to the Kachins. How then should I dispose of the facts, the detailed evidence?

To a very considerable extent the present chapter is simply a documentation of a thesis which I have already propounded."

Excellent! In one paragraph and one sentence Leach has convinced me that I can skip this chapter! And that I'll do. What's worse: I'll close the book for tonight.