Cannibalism: A Perfectly Natural History

In this book, author and zoologist Bill Schutt debunks common myths and investigates cannibalism’s role in biology, anthropology, and history. He takes readers from Arizona’s Chiricahua Mountains to the Sierra Nevadas, where he sheds light on 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.

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 some Europeans ate human body parts as medical curatives, and how cannibalism might be linked to the Neanderthal extinction. He also investigates whether, as climate change causes famine, disease, and overcrowding, we may see more outbreaks of cannibalism in many more species, including our own.