Prehistorian: A Biography of V. Gordon Childe

Although Gordon Childe was not appointed to his first job in the field of prehistoric archaeology until he was 35 years of age, his achievements earned him general recognition as the most eminent and influential scholar of European prehistory in the twentieth century. An unconventional and eccentric character, he was totally dedicated to his chosen field and is remembered throughout the world as a pioneer in the study of prehistory: fresh excavations and discoveries had produced a wealth of archaeological evidence, but no one before Professor Childe had brought the data together and related them to a broader view of the history of civilization. And when he published those highly successful books- Man Makes Himself and What Happened in History - they did more than any other work before to popularize the study of prehistory everywhere.... A generous man, popular with this students, Childe's eccentricity was the endearing kind: sometimes he would mumble incomprehensibly in lectures; well-known for his left-wing views, he would never lose the opportunity of teasing the 'establishment' - always having a copy of the Daily Worker prominently displayed on his desk, or turning up to give a lecture in central Asian national costume. On his sixty-fiftth birthday he returned to Australia - his native land- and six months later committed suicide in the Blue Mountains. Before doing so he had posted a remarkable and moving letter which not only set out some of the reasons for taking his own life, but was also a thoughtful essay on the problem of old age: it is printed in full in this book. The author of this first biography of Gordon Childe took an honours degree in the department of prehistory and archeology at the University of Sheffield, and was later awarded an M.A. for a thesis on Childe's work.