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174th out of 269 books
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78 voters
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Dark Banquet: Blood and the Curious Lives of Blood-Feeding Creatures
by
Bill Schutt
"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 stranges...more
—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 stranges...more
Paperback, 336 pages
Published
October 6th 2009
by Three Rivers Press
(first published 2008)
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My favorite quote from this book, which also sums it up nicely: "Feeding on blood is a tough way to make a living."
Schutt, an expert on vampire bats, has written an easily-read treatise on some of the more interesting "obligate sanguivores" (love this term!) that inhabit our world. The main species he dwells on are the three species of vampire bat, leeches, and bed bugs, although there is some mention of a unique blood-feeding finch from the Galapagos and the exag...more
Schutt, an expert on vampire bats, has written an easily-read treatise on some of the more interesting "obligate sanguivores" (love this term!) that inhabit our world. The main species he dwells on are the three species of vampire bat, leeches, and bed bugs, although there is some mention of a unique blood-feeding finch from the Galapagos and the exag...more
Fascinating, humoruous and bizarre: this book has everything I look for in non-fiction. My husband learned far more than he ever wanted to know about vampire bats, leeches, bed bugs and blood while I was reading this book--it's the sort of volume that compels the reader to exclaim aloud "WOW! Listen to this!"
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Aimed at the armchair biologist, this book was actually pretty entertaining. It was the most amusing biology book I've ever read - the author threw in quite a few dryly humourous observations that I enjoyed. I originally picked it up because I like reading about bats, but the section of the book which will stick in my memory most vividly was the chapter on bed bugs. It was quite horrific, and I don't know if I ever want to move to a new residence or even put my luggage on an airplane again fo...more
Bill likes bats. Bill studies bats for a living. Bill writes lovingly and knowledgeably about bats. So Bill, stick to what you know and write a book about bats.
Once the opening chapter about vampire bats ends (after taking up about a third of the book) Bill is obviously on less familiar ground. The next chapter about bed bugs is enough to make you paranoid about staying in hotels, but I didn't read this book expecting to get tips on buying mattresses.
The author me...more
Once the opening chapter about vampire bats ends (after taking up about a third of the book) Bill is obviously on less familiar ground. The next chapter about bed bugs is enough to make you paranoid about staying in hotels, but I didn't read this book expecting to get tips on buying mattresses.
The author me...more
I now have way more disgusting anecdotes to share with the world about vampire bats, leeches, bedbugs, dick fish, and anything else that could suck your blood. Consider: a battalion in Napoleon's army washed their faces in a river, inadvertently getting leech eggs lodged in their noses and throats, and ended up dying a gruesome and painful death when the lil baby leeches came alive inside of them! So, I appreciate this aspect of Dark Banquet.
I got a little bored, though, when Schutt ...more
I got a little bored, though, when Schutt ...more
i made a vow to read more non-fiction this year (but in such a way as to avoid becoming the type of person who only reads non-fiction and only listens to npr), and what better way to start it off than by indulging my penchant for the odd and slightly macabre? this book is educational and interesting enough, though reviewer's claims of 'charming' and 'exceptionally engaging' don't ring quite true. best are the chapters about vampire bats- did you know that out of eleven hundred species of bats, o...more
I really enjoyed this book over all. However, the section of the book about the author's studies of vampire bats in Trinidad was incredible! One of the best things I've ever read. It helps that I'm a big ol' bat geek, but it really is well written, with lots of relevant footnotes (dude, don't skip the footnotes; you'll miss a lot). Incidentally, if you've ever wanted to learn more about natural selection and/or bat paleontology, Schutt does a great job of explaining both of those subjects to...more
The book was informative, and at its strongest when focusing on the author's specialty (vampire bats). But it was also inconsistent, jumping between topics and pushing a lot of tangential discussions. The author does a nice job getting the science right, but at times the primers on basic evolutionary biology felt like something inserted either because he had it readily available from his lecture notes or because this way the book could be presented straight-faced to a P&T committee. The grand co...more
Very well researched, fun, and fast moving. It's a bit like attending a class taught by the coolest biology professor ever. You don't even have to be a goth dork (like me) or an insect-paranoid anxiety case with a morbid facination for bedbugs (like me) to love this book. Do not be afraid--it didn't take me a month to get through this, I just have a habit of forgetting to check in and change what book I'm reading here. In reality, I was so engrossed, I read the majority of the book on a 3 day (a...more
It seems appropriate that I read this book about vampire bats and other "blood sucking" creatures on Friday the 13th.
Bill Schutt writes a very readable book about the creepy, crawly creatures we shudder about, with little related side digressions in other scientific, historic, and cultural realms.
In addition to vampire bats, there are sections on leeches, and on bedbugs and other parasetic insects.
If you start this book expecting to be scared by the horror movie aspe...more
Bill Schutt writes a very readable book about the creepy, crawly creatures we shudder about, with little related side digressions in other scientific, historic, and cultural realms.
In addition to vampire bats, there are sections on leeches, and on bedbugs and other parasetic insects.
If you start this book expecting to be scared by the horror movie aspe...more
I like to pepper some non-fiction into my reading regularly, and with my current vampire fetish this caught my eye. The author is a biologist who's specialty is vampire bats, so those sections are by far the most in depth and interesting. He can get bogged down in technical jargon at times, and his outright dismissal of anything expect straight-up Darwinism can get grating, but overall the book is an interesting introduction to the lives of sanguivores. Although the section about bed bugs will u...more
First, what I didn't like: bedbugs. Ewwwww. Had to skip parts of that chapter. But I did find some tips on how to figure out if you have the critters at your house, what to do if you do, and how to prevent them from moving in. But gross.
Occasionally, I got a little bogged down in technical stuff. Maybe a glossary would have helped.
But everything else, I really liked. The coolest part, I thought, was the part about the leeches. I had actually read some of that before, in ...more
Occasionally, I got a little bogged down in technical stuff. Maybe a glossary would have helped.
But everything else, I really liked. The coolest part, I thought, was the part about the leeches. I had actually read some of that before, in ...more
This is awesome! Well-written, descriptive, funny, digressive, and filled with enthusiasm, this amalgation of blood facts and fables, natural history and myths, scientific details and humorous asides,and funny little drawings was fun to read.
Of course I liked the first part about vampire bats the most--oh, like the little bat who spider-walks up to hens, mimics chicks, and then gets invited under the hen where they have a nosh--, but the entire book held my attention beginning to...more
Of course I liked the first part about vampire bats the most--oh, like the little bat who spider-walks up to hens, mimics chicks, and then gets invited under the hen where they have a nosh--, but the entire book held my attention beginning to...more
Fun! Like a Smithsonian article, it's a natural history book about creatures that eat blood, mainly bats, leeches, and ticks. It's gross but in a good way. Did you know that some vampire bats can imitate baby chicks in order to sneak up on the mama chicken?
Grade: A
Recommended: To people who enjoyed being grossed out by the natural world. This would probably be a good gift book for older kids or teens who like the divine ew-ness of nature.
Grade: A
Recommended: To people who enjoyed being grossed out by the natural world. This would probably be a good gift book for older kids or teens who like the divine ew-ness of nature.
I wanted to like this book a lot more than I did. I think I would have enjoyed it more if the author had just focussed on bats. It seemed a little scattered. I kept on cringing, as I am a bit scared of leeches, and bed bugs and ticks, which all get their own chapters in this book. Still, I felt like I learned a lot, I just wish the information had been presented a bit differently.
I also found the footnotes to be distracting.
I also found the footnotes to be distracting.
A darkly funny exploration of how several species of sanguivores make their living. The author's affection for vampire bats clearly shines throughout and I soon found myself with a fresh appreciation for not only bats but other blood sippers too. Some species were completely new to me (vampire finches, cadirus) while others gave me the itchy creeps just reading about them (bedbugs). Overall a very enjoyable read but definitely not for the weak-stomached.
A fantastic blend of dark satire and informative humor, Bill Schutt has written what we're all afraid to think about (some of us anyway). Schutt not only provides information on vampire bats, leeches, and ticks (just to name a few critters), he also explains what blood really is. Schutt is a witty little vampire and I'm proud to have read his book.
Really thought this was interesting stuff! However, the author has so many asides and tangents that it detracts from the meat of the book. Also, it's hard to tell when to stop skimming and start reading again (if you want to skip said parts).
If I can't find another book on this topic, I'll read it again.
If I can't find another book on this topic, I'll read it again.
If you really wanted a fun read about blood sucking creatures this is it. Funny, insightful, interesting, and engaging!
Charnel House- house structre used to store bones
Soucouy Ants- Trinidad - Local superstition of human sized blood feeders
old crones that shed their skin at night
Defeat with a bag of rice opened at the door, They must stop and count all the grains.
Barber surgeons - Barber Pole-
red stripe- blood
blue stripe- veins
w...more
Charnel House- house structre used to store bones
Soucouy Ants- Trinidad - Local superstition of human sized blood feeders
old crones that shed their skin at night
Defeat with a bag of rice opened at the door, They must stop and count all the grains.
Barber surgeons - Barber Pole-
red stripe- blood
blue stripe- veins
w...more
Iris
rated it
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review of another edition
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review of another edition
Recommended to Iris by:
NYTimes Science section
Shelves:
science
Illuminating! Inspiring! Oh, Bill Schutt, your snappy prose, love of learning, and lifetime of research whetted my appetite and fueled my cocktail party chatter.
I'm particularly grateful for the stylized sketches of vampire bats, for the history of a Parisian sociopath with cow's blood coursing through his veins (Antoine Mauroy in 1667), and for the moving coda about the preciousness of blood-eating creatures.
Schutt's innovative ideas and science-history tangents incite ...more
I'm particularly grateful for the stylized sketches of vampire bats, for the history of a Parisian sociopath with cow's blood coursing through his veins (Antoine Mauroy in 1667), and for the moving coda about the preciousness of blood-eating creatures.
Schutt's innovative ideas and science-history tangents incite ...more
dark banquet was informative and fun. it did sometimes go overly science-y so I skipped a paragraph here and there, which is not my norm. the author did seem to be trying to convince you not to hate or denigrate blood feeders (sanguivores) but really, would a creepy hater ever pick up this book? I think only the pro-leech community would get past the title.
any author who writes "...the liquefied dermal stew is snorked up through the stylostome..." about chiggers is okay b...more
any author who writes "...the liquefied dermal stew is snorked up through the stylostome..." about chiggers is okay b...more
What could be more interesting than vampire bats, leeches, ticks, mites, bed bugs, chiggers, mosquitos, candirus and a vampire finch?
Dark Banquet is an interesting and lively written book filled with facts and humor than will have the more imaginative reader scratching their nether regions and checking their urethras for candiru.
Fun!
Dark Banquet is an interesting and lively written book filled with facts and humor than will have the more imaginative reader scratching their nether regions and checking their urethras for candiru.
Fun!
Diaemus youngii beats Edward Cullen wings-down for the cutest vampire around (Snuggle Chicken!) High ick factor (maybe a plus?), but really enjoyed these tales of fearsome bloodsucking beasts (including very teeny ones.)
Playful to a fault, this is a very quick and painless trip into the dark and spooky world of animals, insects, birds and fishes who feed on blood. Some sections are laugh out loud funny and there are a few aha moments.
What a fun, albeit squirm-inducing book. The chapters about bats were easier to read than the chapter about bedbugs. *shudder* Schutt is genuinely funny and irreverent. The book is a delight, if you like this sort of thing.
A very fascinating book about creatures that survive by eating blood. I learned a lot about vampire bats and leaches. A great read.
The section on bats was fascinating. The section on leeches and blood was quite interesting. The section on bed bugs, chiggers, and ticks was horrifying.
The first portion of this book - primarily about bats - I found interesting, informative and funny. The middle section - on blood - was informative. The last section, especially the part about bed bugs, made me want to bleach my entire house.
I liked this book..must be that biology degree.
I really enjoyed the author's style--he brought a great sense of humor to an odd subject, which made for an enjoyable read. I loved the part about the vampire bats, and about blood in general; when he moved on to leeches, bedbugs, and the like, I really wasn't interested, so I stopped reading the book.
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