Join a book club that is reading Cannibalism: A Perfectly Natural History!
Cannibalism: A Perfectly Natural History
"Surprising. Impressive. Cannibalism restores my faith in humanity." --Sy Montgomery, The New York Times Book Review For centuries scientists have written off cannibalism as a bizarre phenomenon with little biological significance. Its presence in nature was dismissed as a desperate response to starvation or other life-threatening circumstances, and few spent time studying it. A taboo subject in our culture, the behavior was portrayed mostly through horror movies or tabloids sensationalizing the crimes of real-life flesh-eaters. But the true nature of cannibalism--the role it plays in evolution as well as human history--is even more intriguing (and more normal) than the misconceptions we've come to accept as fact. In Cannibalism: A Perfectly Natural History, zoologist Bill Schutt sets the record straight, debunking common myths and investigating our new understanding of cannibalism's role in biology, anthropology, and history in the most fascinating account yet written on this complex topic. Schutt takes readers from Arizona's Chiricahua Mountains, where he wades through ponds full of tadpoles devouring their siblings, to the Sierra Nevadas, where he joins researchers who are shedding new light on what happened to the Donner Party--the most infamous episode of cannibalism in American history. He even meets with an expert on the preparation and consumption of human placenta (and, yes, it goes well with Chianti). Bringing together the latest cutting-edge science, Schutt answers questions such as why some amphibians consume their mother's skin; why certain insects bite the heads off their partners after sex; why, up until the end of the twentieth century, Europeans regularly ate human body parts as medical curatives; and how cannibalism might be linked to the extinction of the Neanderthals. He takes us into the future as well, investigating whether, as climate change causes famine, disease, and overcrowding, we may see more outbreaks of cannibalism in many more species--including our own. Cannibalism places a perfectly natural occurrence into a vital new context and invites us to explore why it both enthralls and repels us.
BUY THE BOOK
These clubs recently read this book...
Community Reviews
This book was so fascinating and insightful. I did not think this is where a book of cannibalism was going to take my thoughts on politics and world history, but this book really makes you think about how we influence each other.
Loved learning how much of catabolism is fear mongering vs actual cannibalism and the reasons behind it such as religion, ritual, etc.
How wild! Loved this scientific exploration of Cannibalism. Learned so much about the Donner Party too!
The information in this book was super interesting. Unfortunately, the writing style and format was difficult to get into. This would be great as an information mini series or some other format.
Well ... I did not love it. A lot of that is personal preference, like how the language was a little too academic/scientific for me, the fact it covered everything from bugs to fish to humans, and the format of the Mad Cow chapter. I did enjoy the chapters on the Donner Party (my second favourite party) and kuru, though the placenta chapter just about made me throw in the towel. I won't say "don't read this", but it's definitely not top of my list.
See why thousands of readers are using Bookclubs to stay connected.