Presenting the history of cannibalism in concert with human evolution, this account takes readers on an astonishing trip around the world and throughout history, painting the incredible, multifaceted realities of cannibalism. Focusing on how cannibalism began with the human species and how it has become an unspeakable taboo today, this study answers questions such as Where, when, and how did shame and secrecy become connected with cannibalism? Why did some cannibals consume their enemies while others consumed their dead relatives? Did the eating of human flesh make them crazy? and What does it taste like? With careful anthropological and archaeological analysis and the telling of fascinating stories from around the world, this remarkable resource also includes details on the most famous real-life instances of cannibalism—including the Alive! incident in the Andes and the German Butcher of Hannover—and facts on infamous fictional cannibals such as Hannibal Lecter.
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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. "The truth is, we all have cannibals in our closets," writes Travis-Henikoff in her introduction to this meticulously researched, compulsively readable history of mankind's greatest taboo. As she eloquently illustrates, cannibalism has been around for as long as humans, and it's quite possible that its outlaw is a recent development in terms of recorded history. Many readers are no doubt familiar with the Chilean rugby team immortalized in Piers Paul Read's Alive (recounted again here), but not with the fact that widespread cannibalism has been documented in parts of war-torn Africa as recently as 2003. Sadistic serial killers and the oft-stereotyped tribesmen of the Amazon figure prominently, but where Travis-Henikoff truly excels is in her sociological and anthropological analysis, offering thoughtful insights into the whys of cannibalism, lucidly explaining how cannibalism can begin in a society, as well as its historical employment in times of famine, war and even during a period of political witch hunting in Communist China. A brief but entertaining digression into folklore examines cannibalism in fairy tales such as the Brothers Grimm. Throughout, Travis-Henikoff maintains a thoughtful tone, free of judgment, that frequently challenging readers' beliefs. The result is an eminently enjoyable, albeit very dark exploration of a taboo topic that should give armchair anthropologists, sociologists and historians plenty to chew on.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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A Choice magazine Outstanding Academic Title for 2008
"Travis-Henikoff covers the phenomenon's many raisons d'être, from survival to politically motivated terror. . . . The book's range is impressive. Highly recommended for public libraries." —Library Journal
"A careful and scholarly look at cannibalism, filled with humor, history, and fascinating facts; a totally delectable delight to read." —Ralph L. Holloway, professor of anthropology, Columbia University
"If we are to ultimately fashion a real image of ourselves, not as fallen angels but as risen apes, this book will serve as an essential step in that direction." —Alan Mann, professor of anthropology, Princeton University
"Exceptionally well researched and beautifully written. Our notion of exotic food may never be the same." —Alan Almquist, professor emeritus of anthropology, California State University–East Bay
"Travis-Henikoff's lively and sometimes amusing anthropophagic romp shows that starvation and cultural patterns are often strong enough to counter moral taboos." —College and Resource Library News
"Fascinating, fact and history-filled read that speaks to many of the societal problems we are facing today." —Gary Sojka, professor of biology and former president, Bucknell University
"A fascinating history of the role cannibalism has played in the evolution of man." —Alan R. Kahn, author, Mind Shapes: Understanding the Differences in Thinking and Communication
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Clear understanding of a taboo,
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This review is from: Dinner with a Cannibal: The Complete History of Mankind's Oldest Taboo (Hardcover)
The history and psychology is far more interesting, ancient, and intricate than Thomas Harris would lead you to believe after reading The Silence of the Lambs. Travis-Henikoff takes her dual loves of food and cultural anthropology and weaves an excellent description of cannibalism. She begins with a very clear description of all the kinds of food humans eat. This puts the reader in the proper mindset: to understand cultures other than your own, you have to stop thinking that your culture is the only one that has it right. I must admit, I learned more about the edible parts of an animal from this book than I would have liked, but this knowledge helped me to remember throughout the book that humans have a special relationship with food.
She then explains the various types: exocannibalism (eating enemies), endocannibalism (eating loved ones) and survival cannibalism (the Donner Party). All of this goes along with the special relationship with food. She is not judgmental of the societies that practiced cannibalism; in fact, she makes it feel foolish to denigrate "savages" who eat their loved ones (sometimes negatively effecting their own health) to make sure their souls are completely gone to the other side. She is not judgmental of those who are forced into cannibalism because of their situations, such as soldiers forced to eat their captives (though she does appropriately rebuke their commanders) or the men who crashed in the Andes. She does a wonderful job of describing their situations and of showing how these people accepted their acts as their new normal. She gives almost no attention to those who act outside of societal norms; cannibalistic serial killers do not tell us useful things about a culture in the same way as cannibalistic funerary rights do. She does, however, show how deeply rooted cannibalism is in our psyches, both by showing how long humans have been cannibals and also by delineating all the cannibals in our children's stories. Unfortunately, she does go into quite a few tangents-all related to anthropology and interesting, but not adding significantly to understanding her thesis. Dinner with a Cannibal shows the reader what so many books on the anthropology of food try so hard to explain: food is a vital part of our lives, cultures, histories, and futures. Our religious beliefs, health, and societal structure all circle around what we put into our bodies. This is a book about life more than death, about food more than sickness, and an attempt to overcome ethnocentrism.
12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Everything it should be and more,
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This review is from: Dinner with a Cannibal: The Complete History of Mankind's Oldest Taboo (Hardcover)
Travis-Henikoff (T-K), the daughter of a master chef and paleoanthropologist has written the book she was born to write. Dinner with a Cannibal is a superior book on every level that is researched well enough to be useful to both Anthropologists and lovers of the quirky, strange and interesting. As a reader who falls into the latter category, I recommend this book to absolutely everyone.
T-K uses her extensive research to tell a story that moves as it illuminates, covering topics that give context to cannibalism beyond sitting down to a nice meal of human flesh. Do not expect a glorification of salacious events, but rather a style of writing that allows the facts and her conversations to shine in a way that makes you want more after 304 pages. Buy this book and share it with a friend. (My roomate dibbed it as soon as I brough it home). Better yet, leave it on your coffee table as a conversation starter. For people who love these types of books I also recommend: Stiff by Mary Roach, Mutants(s) by Armand Marie Leroi (little heavy on the science if that's your thing), Execution by Geoffrey Abbott, and Infection by Gerald N. Callahan. But not until you finish this one.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best book I've read in a while,
By
This review is from: Dinner with a Cannibal: The Complete History of Mankind's Oldest Taboo (Hardcover)
There were a few grammatical errors, and I wish there was a complete set of end notes, but overall this book was fantastic. This is the kind of nonfiction I deeply enjoy: hard facts mixed with personal stories and a lively use of language. The range of coverage of the book is impressive - from cannibalism in animals to simply odd culinary practices to the amazingly variable forms of cannibalism throughout human history all over the world. Simply a documentation of early-20th century Amazonian and New Guinean cultural practices this is not. My reactions while reading this book ranged from laughing out loud to jaw-on-the-floor wonder. Highly recommended.
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