Synopses & Reviews
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 cannibalismincluding the Alive! incident in the Andes and the German Butcher of Hannoverand facts on infamous fictional cannibals such as Hannibal Lecter.
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A Choice magazine Outstanding Academic Title for 2008
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"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
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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
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"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
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"Exceptionally well researched and beautifully written. Our notion of exotic food may never be the same." Alan Almquist, professor emeritus of anthropology, California State UniversityEast Bay
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"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
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"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
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"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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"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
Synopsis
Presenting the history of cannibalism in concert with human evolution, Dinner with a Cannibal takes its readers on an astonishing trip around the world and through history, examining its subject from every angle in order to paint the incredible, multifaceted panoply that is the reality of cannibalism. At the heart of Carole A. Travis-Henikoffs book is the question of how cannibalism began with the human species and how it has become an unspeakable taboo today. At a time when science is being battered by religions and failing teaching methods, Dinner with a Cannibal presents slices of multiple sciences in a readable, understandable form nested within a wealth of data. With history, paleoanthropology, science, gore, sex, murder, war, culinary tidbits, medical facts, and anthropology filling its pages, Dinner with a Cannibal presents both the light and dark side of the human story; the story of how we came to be all the things we are today.
About the Author
Carole A. Travis-Henikoff is an author, businesswoman, rancher, and independent scholar specializing in paleoanthropologythe study of human origins. She has given lectures on paleoanthropology at Loyola University (Chicago) and Rush University Medical Center (Chicago), and sits on the board of directors for the Stone Age Institute. She worked with the Getty Conservation team on the preservation of artifacts at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, Egypt, and participated in an archeological dig alongside J. Desmond Clark, Tim White, Nicholas Toth, and Kathy Schick under the auspices of the Institute of Human Origins. She divides her time between Chicago, Illinois, and Jackson Hole, Wyoming.