Dark banquet : blood and the curious lives of blood-feeding creatures

From Publishers Weekly In this salmagundi of abstruse science, informative history and engaging personal anecdotes, Schutt's fascination for sanguivores goes a long way toward disarming, while defining, our primal fear of creatures that feed on blood. For all their fearsome rep@utation, only three of 1,100 bat species savor blood, and one of those preys exclusively on chickens. The author doesn't make sanguivores entirely cuddly: part two opens with the horrifying theory that George Washington was likely bled to death by ill-informed doctors and eager leeches, and includes an account of the first dog-to-dog transfusion in 1666 (the first successful human transfusion was in 1901). In part three, Schutt surveys other blood feeders: leeches currently making a comeback in modern medicine, pesky bedbugs and chiggers, and potentially lethal mosquitoes and ticks. One oddity (and typically fascinating tidbit) in the sanguivore world is the vampire finch of the Galapagos, which Schutt theorizes is evolving before scientists' eyes, turning to blood-sipping when other nourishment is in short supply. Passages that focus on the science can be a slog, but are quickly alleviated by sections that are witty and illuminating. (Oct.) Copyright В© Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From Booklist Schutt is a bat biologist who studies the behavior of vampire bats, those famous “blood suckers” of the South American tropics. While studying the three species of vampires, he became interested in the properties of blood itself and of other blood-feeding animals. In a chatty, humorous style, the author first talks of his bat research and the species of vampire bat that will nuzzle its way under a brooding hen to feed on her highly vascularized brood patch. In the second part of the book, Schutt tells of blood itself, its functions in the body and how it is transported by the circulatory system. He describes early medicine and its love of bloodletting, leading to the extensive use of medicinal leeches—a practice that continues today. In the final section, the author introduces us to several other sanguivores, including chiggers, ticks, and bedbugs. With great scientific accuracy (backed up by extensive notes and a bibliography), text couched in laymanвЂTMs terms, and a sense of breathless discovery, Schutt will make blood feeding just another choice on the culinary spectrum. --Nancy Bent

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.

the Washington Post - Alex Remington

bill Schutt's Dark Banquet Profiles Some Of The Animal Kingdom's Dedicated Bloodsuckers, From Vampire Bats And The Dreaded Candiru Catfish To The Not-so-dreaded Vampire Finch. A Bat Specialist At Long Island University And An Associate At The American Museum Of Natural History, Schutt Is An Engaging Writer…though More For Biology Lovers Than For Buffy Fans, dark Banquet Has Just Enough Of The Macabre To Justify Its Holiday Tie-in. And For Any Method Actor Preparing To Put On Dracula's Cape For Halloween, Reading It Is An Excellent Way To Get In Character.

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 natures strangest creaturesthe 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 areand 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 natures 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 againbut 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 Disordercurrently devastating honey bees worldwide). Then there are the truly weirdvampire 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. From the Hardcover edition. “A witty, scientifically accurate, and often intensely creepy exploration of sanguivorous creatures.”—San Francisco Chronicle“Bill Schutt turns whatever fear and disgust you may feel towards nature's vampires into a healthy respect for evolution's power to fill every conceivable niche.”—Carl Zimmer, author of Parasite Rex and Microcosm: E. coli and the New Science of LifeFor 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 us on a fascinating 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 blood feeders, from bats to bedbugs, are as deserving of our curiosity as warmer and fuzzier species are—and that many of them are even worthy of conservation.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. 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 and alarming, Dark Banquet peers into a part of the natural world to which we are, through our blood, inextricably linked. "A witty, scientifically accurate, and often intensely creepy exploration of sanguivorous creatures." —__San Francisco Chronicle__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 us on a fascinating 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 blood feeders, from bats to bedbugs, are as deserving of our curiosity as warmer and fuzzier species are–and that many of them are even worthy of conservation. Enlightening and alarming, __Dark Banquet__ peers into a part of the natural world to which we are, through our blood, inextricably linked."__Dark Banquet__ is an amazing account of all those creatures that most of us consider really creepy! But author Bill Schutt doesn’t, and actually embraces these critters and their bloodthirsty lifestyles. It’s great to see such wonderful animal research in a reader-friendly form. After finishing the book, you’ll have a lot to discuss at your next dinner party!"—Jack Hanna, director emeritus, Columbus Zoo, and host of television’s Emmy Award—winning series __Into the Wild__"[A] passionate defense of bloodsuckers from the leech to the candiru."—__Discover__ 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.