Bill Schutt

“A masterful and compulsively readable book that challenges our preconceived notions about a behavior often sensationalized in our culture and, until just recently, misunderstood in the scientific world.” —Ian Tattersall, Curator Emeritus, American Museum of Natural History, and author of The Strange Case of the Rickety Cossack 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.

A Perfectly Natural History

Cannibalism

For centuries, blood feeders have inhabited our nightmares and horror stories, as well as the shadowy realms of scientific knowledge. In Dark Banquet, zoologist Bill Schutt takes readers on an entertaining voyage into the world of some of nature’s strangest creatures—the sanguivores. Using a sharp eye and mordant wit, Schutt makes a remarkably persuasive case that vampire bats, leeches, ticks, bed bugs, and other vampires are as deserving of our curiosity as warmer and fuzzier species are—and that many of them are even ­worthy of conservation. Schutt takes us from rural Trinidad to the jungles of Brazil to learn about some of the most reviled, misunderstood, and marvelously evolved animals on our planet: vampire bats. Only recently has fact begun to disentangle itself from fiction concerning these remarkable animals, and Schutt delves into the myths and misconceptions surrounding them. Examining the substance that sustains nature’s vampires, Schutt reveals just how little we actually knew about blood until well into the twentieth century. We revisit George Washington on his deathbed to learn how ideas about blood and the supposedly therapeutic value of bloodletting, first devised by the ancient Egyptians and Greeks, survived into relatively modern times. Schutt also tracks the history of medicinal leech use. Once employed by the tens of millions to drain perceived excesses of blood, today the market for these ancient creatures is booming once again—but for very different reasons. Among the other blood feeders we meet in these pages are bed bugs, or “ninja insects,” which are making a creepy resurgence in posh hotels and well-kept homes near you. In addition, Dark Banquet details our dangerous and sometimes deadly encounters with ticks, chiggers, and mites (the ­latter implicated in Colony Collapse Disorder—currently devastating honey bees worldwide). Then there are the truly weird—vampire finches. And if you thought piranha were scary, some people believe that the candiru (or willy fish) is the best reason to avoid swimming in the Amazon. Enlightening, alarming, and appealing to our delight in the bizarre, Dark Banquet peers into a part of the natural world to which we are, through our blood, inextricably linked.

Blood and the Curious Lives of Blood-Feeding Creatures

Dark Banquet

A witty and informative look inside the world of animals that feed on blood. Examines the ecological roles and life cycles of the vampire bat, leeches, ticks, mites, bedbugs, and a feared vampire fish known as the candiru.

blood and the curious lives of blood-feeding creatures

Dark banquet

"Zoologist Bill Schutt delivers a look at hearts from across the animal kingdom, from insects to whales to humans. Illustrated with black-and-white line drawings"--

A Natural History of the Heart

Pump

Cannibalism. It's the last, greatest taboo: the stuff of urban legends and ancient myths, airline crashes and Captain Cook. But while we might get a thrill at the thought of the black widow spider's gruesome mating habits or the tragic fate of the nineteenth-century Donner Party pioneers, today cannibalism belongs to history - or, at the very least, the realm of the weird, the rare and the very far away. Doesn't it? Here, zoologist Bill Schutt digs his teeth into the subject to find an answer that is as surprising as it is unsettling. From the plot of Psycho to the ritual of the Eucharist, cannibalism is woven into our history, our culture - even our medicine. And in the natural world, eating your own kind is everything from a survival strategy - practiced by polar bears and hamsters alike - to an evolutionary adaption like that found in sand tiger sharks, who, by the time they are born, will have eaten all but one of their siblings in the womb. Dark, fascinating and endlessly curious, Eat Me delves into human and animal cannibalism to find a story of colonialism, religion, anthropology, dinosaurs, ancient humans and modern consequences, from the terrible 'laughing death' disease kuru to the BSE crisis. And - of course - our intrepid author tries it out for himself. Published in partnership with Wellcome Collection. Wellcome Collection is a free museum and library that aims to challenge how we think and feel about health. Inspired by the medical objects and curiosities collected by Henry Wellcome, it connects science, medicine, life and art. Wellcome Collection exhibitions, events and books explore a diverse range of subjects, including consciousness, forensic medicine, emotions, sexology, identity and death. Wellcome Collection is part of Wellcome, a global charitable foundation that exists to improve health for everyone by helping great ideas to thrive, funding over 14,000 researchers and projects in more than 70 countries. wellcomecollection.org

A Natural and Unnatural History of Cannibalism

Eat Me

J. R. Finch

In the wake of World War II, zoologist and adventurer Captain R. J. MacCready is sent to the frozen mountain valleys of Tibet to find a creature of legend that may hold the secret to humankind’s evolutionary future—or the key to its extinction—in this explosive follow-up to Hell’s Gate. It is 1946, and the world is beginning to rebuild from the ashes of the devastating war. Marked by the perilous discoveries he encountered in the wilds of Brazil, Captain R. J. MacCready has a new assignment on the other side of the globe—a mission that may help him put the jungle’s horrors behind him. He is headed for the Himalayas, to examine some recently discovered mammoth bones. Arriving in Asia, Mac learns the bones are only a cover story. He’s really there to investigate an ancient codex allegedly written by Pliny the Elder, a fascinating text filled with explosive secrets. The Roman naturalist claimed to have discovered a new race of humans, a divergent species that inspired the myth of the Yeti and is rumored to have the ability to accelerate the process of evolution. If Pliny’s assertions are true, this seemingly supernatural ability holds unlimited potential benefits—and unlimited potential for destruction. Charged with uncovering more about this miracle species, Mac sets off into the remote mountain valleys of Tibet, using the codex as his guide. But the freezing climate and treacherous terrain are only the beginning of the dangers facing him. He must also contend with the brutal Chinese army and a species of native creature even the Yeti seem to fear. The deeper he plunges into the unknown, the more certain it appears that Mac and the associates who join his odyssey may not make it out alive. Combining plausible science, history, and action-packed thrills, The Himalayan Code is a page-turning adventure sure to enthrall fans of James Rollins, Michael Crichton, Dan Brown, and Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child.

An R. J. MacCready Novel

The Himalayan Codex

An Incisive History of Teeth, from Hagfish to Humans

Bite

"1944. As war rages in Europe and the Pacific, Army Intel makes a shocking discovery: a 300-foot Japanese sub marooned and empty, deep in the Brazilian interior. A team of Army Rangers sent to investigate has already gone missing. Now, the military sends Captain R.J. MacCready, a wisecracking, brilliant scientific jack-of-all-trades to learn why the Japanese are there-and what they're planning. Parachuting deep into the heart of Central Brazil, one of the most remote regions on the planet, Mac is unexpectedly reunited with his hometown friend and fellow scientist Bob Thorne. A botanist presumed dead for years, Thorne lives peacefully with Yanni, an indigenous woman who possesses mysterious and invaluable skills. Their wisdom and expertise are nothing short of lifesaving for Mac as he sets out on a trail into the unknown. Mac makes the arduous trek into an ancient, fog-shrouded valley hidden beneath a 2000-foot plateau, where he learns of a diabolical Axis plot to destroy the United States and its allies. But the enemy isn't the only danger in this treacherous jungle paradise. An even darker force is on the prowl, attacking at night and draining the blood of livestock and human prey. Mac has to uncover the source of this emerging biological crisis and foil the enemy's plans ... but will he be in time to save humanity from itself?"--

a thriller

Hell's gate

Michael Yu

Fake History is the textbook you wish you could have read while falling asleep in history class. It reveals the secret reality behind world history, including these incredible ''fake facts" Noah and the Flood was the original political controversy over manmade climate change. The famous general Hannibal rode war elephants during a historic battle with militant animal-rights activists. Julius Caesar was assassinated by Roman senators for demanding bipartisan cooperation. The Black Death was an Asian bioweapon of Genghis Khan. Barack Obama assassinated Osama bin Laden because of an internal feud between Shia and Sunni Muslims. And to help stop illegal immigration, Donald Trump actually planned to replace the torch of the Statue of Liberty with a searchlight. From Jesus Christ to Donald Trump, from Genesis to World War III, from ancient legends to alternative facts, Fake History takes a comic romp through the tangled narratives of history to reveal the scandalous truth of the world's past and the incredible destiny to which it is heading. The provocative novel of "fictional nonfiction" takes the form of a mock textbook and rewrites human history as fake news. It satirizes the extremist spirit of the Information Age in all its social misinformation, political disinformation, and hysterical hyperreality.

The Wildly Inaccurate, Ruthlessly Manipulative, Dangerously Deceptive, and REAL History of the World

Fake 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.

“Will haunt you long after you put the book down.” — James Cameron, director/writer/explorer 1944. As war rages across Europe and the Pacific, Army intel makes a shocking discovery: a three-hundred-foot Japanese submarine marooned and empty, deep in the Brazilian interior. A team of Army Rangers sent to investigate has gone missing and the military sends Captain R. J. MacCready to learn why the Japanese are there—and what they’re planning. Parachuting into a mist-shrouded valley beneath a two thousand foot plateau, Mac is unexpectedly reunited with fellow scientist and friend Bob Thorne, presumed dead for years. Thorne, a botanist, lives with Yanni, an indigenous woman who possesses mysterious, invaluable skills. Their wisdom and expertise will prove lifesaving for Mac as he sets out into the unknown. Soon, Mac learns of a diabolical Axis plot to destroy the United States and its allies. But there’s an even darker force on the prowl, attacking at night and targeting both man and beast. Mac has to uncover the source of this emerging biological crisis and foil the enemy’s plans . . . but will he be in time to save humanity from itself? “Terrific.” —Steve Berry, New York Times bestselling author of The 14th Colony

A Thriller

Hell's Gate

“Bill Schutt and J. R. Finch are two of the best adventure writers to hit the scene in a long time!” —Clive Cussler, #1 New York Times bestselling author It is 1946, and the world is rebuilding itself from the war’s devastating ashes. R. J. MacCready is headed for the Himalayas to examine some recently discovered mammoth bones—a mission that may help him put the loss of his friend and colleague Bob Thorne behind him. Arriving in Asia with the bright and fearless Yanni Thorne, his friend’s widow and now his invaluable assistant, Mac learns the bones are only a cover story. He’s actually been sent there to investigate an ancient codex allegedly written by Pliny the Elder, a fascinating text filled with revelatory secrets. The Roman naturalist claimed to have discovered a new race of humans, a divergent species that inspired the myths of the Yeti and is rumored to have the ability to accelerate the process of evolution. If Pliny’s assertions are true, this seemingly supernatural ability holds unlimited potential benefits—and unlimited potential for destruction. Charged with uncovering more about this miracle species, Mac sets off into the remote mountain valleys of Tibet, known to the locals as the Labyrinth, using the codex as his guide. As he plunges deeper into the unknown, the more certain it appears that Mac and the associates who join his odyssey may not make it out alive.

Bill Schutt

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