Dark Banquet: Blood and the Curious Lives of Blood-Feeding Creatures

A VERY ENTERTAINING LESSON ABOUT BLOOD AND REAL LIFE VAMPIRES

Dark Banquet is an exhilarating, informative, and VERY funny exploration of nature's bloodfeeders. From vampire bats, to bed bugs (a real problem), leeches, and ticks - they're all here and Bill Schutt is just the man to tell us about them (he studies vampire bats for a living). Additionally, there's a fascinating chapter on blood (and how very little we actually knew about it until the 20th century). We learn, for example, that George Washington was bled to death by his well-meaning doctors (who drained him of 80 ounces of blood while treating his sore throat). All of this (sometimes gory) material is presented in a highly entertaining manner. What an enjoyable ride! I'm looking forward to Schutt's next book (which, according to his cool and informative website, will be about cannibals).

On Dining Darkly, a review on Dark Banquet

I have not yet finished reading this book but have already learned things I didn't know about those creatures who exist on blood. The book is well written and humorous, not taking itself too seriously. I find that for a book that is clearly research oriented I am not in the least bored. I'm looking forward to reading more and finding out how the meal ends.

Making Evolution Fun - and Even Funny (A reader from New York)

If Lewis Black or the late George Carlin were evolutionary biologists, this is the sort of book they would have written - beginning with the history of blood-letting - enhanced by the incomparable (and sometimes Adams Family-esque) drawings of Patricia Wynne (The killing of George Washington - bled to death by physicians trying to cure a common cold, comes quickly to mind.).

This is definitely the work of a child who grew up without ever losing - as do most human beings - that uniquely child-like sense of wonder. The text is a vertebrate zoologist's personal journey into the mysterious world of blood-feeding creatures and our species' often bizarre fascination with the substance itself - by the scientist who stopped worrying about vampire bats, and bedbugs, and vampire catfish, and learned to love them instead.

A book like this has never been written before on any scientific subject. The reader is often left with a sense of mystery and wonder, between bouts of rolling on the floor laughing. And, as does the author, we come to love vampire bats (if not bedbugs and urethgra-seeking catfish) - and even to think of the little beasties as "cute."

Highly recommended for anyone (from intelligent Junior High School readers through Ph.D.s) - anyone, with any interest at all in nature or science.

No text was provided for this review.