Psychiatrists, two of whom sit in on the trial and question witnesses, maintain that both men had troubled relationships with their mothers. They believe Brandes might blame himself for his mother's death when he was. Meiwes' mother was domineering, berating him loudly and publicly, living with him until her death, accompanying him on dates and even going along on troop outings in the early s when he joined the German army. Meiwes claimed that such treatment led him to create "Franky," an imaginary brother who listened to him.
But both men had large secret lives. Brandes, while openly bisexual - living with a man, dating women - was frequenting a tall, male prostitute named Emmanuel, and demanding more and more violent sex. Emmanuel showed up for trial recently, his head wrapped in a black scarf to hide his face from the cameras. He sat, as witnesses do in German court, alone, surrounded on three sides by the defence, the panel of judges, the prosecution and the expert witnesses. His back was to the gallery, which is no longer overflowing, but still full of spectators. After telling the court that, "mostly, Brandes wasn't happy he was addicted to sex," he went on to explain that Brandes frequently asked him to either cut off, or bite off, or eat, his penis.
This revelation led to more than an hour of discussion from all sides on the exact meaning of the request, about whether Brandes had asked to be eaten by others, before meeting Meiwes in an internet, cannibal chat room. Police investigator Wolfgang Buch told the court about the secret online lives that brought Meiwes and Brandes together.
Both had become chat-room addicts, hanging out in rooms such as the Cannibal Cafe, where humans are described as cows, and their preferences for slaughter are discussed. At night, he dismembered Barbie dolls and even, in his childhood bedroom, videotaped himself, smeared with ketchup, pretending to be slaughtered.
He stored images of violent death and violent pornography on his computer. But Buch explained that he also spent time answering email from the people who wrote to volunteer to be his meal. He would email photos of the slaughter room he'd built in his house, using mattresses to soundproof the room, and an old metal patio table that would allow blood to drain to the floor. A few he met, some coming to the house and allowing themselves to be strung by their feet, as if for slaughter, as he outlined in marker the cuts of meat on their bodies.
Meiwes has said none of these were ultimately willing to be eaten, and that he only wanted a totally willing victim. Others agreed to meet him, but didn't.
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All this ended in February , when Brandes offered himself, and insisted he was serious. Brandes made out a will, leaving his possessions to his lover, and bought an untraceable cash ticket to Kassel. The videotape shows the two men caressing and joking about the shapes of the shadows on the walls.
It shows them both taking part in Brandes castration, as agreed upon before the meeting. It also shows their frustration at the fact that the penis is too tough, once cooked, for them to eat. Meiwes later would cook pieces of Brandes along with his morning eggs or for lunch. He believed that with each piece he ate, he became closer to Brandes, even telling Stern magazine that Brandes' skills at speaking English passed on to him. If it has been done by humans, then it exists on the human spectrum of behaviour.
There's instances in which I don't consider it morally wrong: The fact that I haven't been raised on human meat is based solely on chance or luck. I consider it morally wrong if: Jul 15, The Behrg rated it really liked it Shelves: Running the gamut from insects to the animal world to dinosaurs and neanderthals, the book then jumps to more modern cases from the Donner party to survival cannibalism to placentophagy. The research and science behind zoologist Bill Schutt's study is impressive, if at times overwhelming. I definitely identified more with the human aspects of this "study in history," and there were both some mind-opening ideas and criminally tragic insights into humanity.
I appreciate Schutt's decision to not include any recent sensationalized media cases where family's of victims or culprits might be unintentionally affected. This a novel that changes you. It's impossible to look at the world the same way after diving into the depths of such a bizarre yet potentially natural practice. For all my disturbed like-minded individuals, this is one you should definitely check out.
This in no way affected my review. Natural doesnt have to be better all the time. Please note that I have put the original German text to the end of this review. Just if you might be interested. Cannibalism is only so controversial in human societies. One would just eat another person in exceptional situations. In a classic plane crash or if, in a post-apocalyptic world, the survival of the family depends on it.
When human flesh was part of religious ceremonies, it often included exocannibalism. The inclusion of the power of the enemy. The more peaceful variant was the endocannibalism, with which one honored the family members by consuming them. The only form left in the modern world is the ritual eating of placentas. But the positive mentality behind this act is in no relation to the bloody rituals of the past. Although in the depths of unexplored rainforests, there may probably be one or the other tribe. In other forms of life than humans, it is common practice and a fixed component of the life cycle.
When, for example, cannibalism is integrated into reproduction, rearing or nutrition as an element of preservation of the species. When it comes to preserving the species, sentimentality is out of place in the animal kingdom. In particular, if, for example in the case of insects, the life expectancy of males is not long anyway. Economically speaking, after fulfilling their primary task, they have the most significant benefit as available kilocalories.
Even after the act of reproduction, cannibalism continues in the womb in various ways. Shark species in which it is usual that the inhabitants eat each other. Children snacking their mother's skin. And parents one would have better never met because they make no difference between food and own children.
Therefore, it is well advised not to build a relationship with them. But if one of the few available sources of essential nutrients is your own kind and family, you can not be picky. A long-term study with different species would be fascinating. By this, one could see under what conditions species develop cannibalism. Similar species do not always start eating each other under similar circumstances. Therefore, there must be an unknown factor in the game.
In lab environments with changing climatic and nutritional conditions, one could see clearly when the transition occurs. Although besides not yet found genetic factors could play a role too. The medical applications testify to the curious history of healing and medicine. There is a bigoted difference between a medical prescription for differently prepared parts and proper cannibalism.
Of course, with such spectacular remedies, a reputation and good money can be made. The psyche eats too and heals better with exclusive nutrition. Since cannibalism is less common in humans, no microorganism has yet specialized in this mode of spreading. Although such cases have already occurred in indigenous peoples Kuru.
What raises a borderline hypothesis: A pathogen wants to spread in a fictive population, which has practiced cannibalism for centuries. What could be more effective than to strengthen the craving for human flesh in the minds of already infected people? Not to mention direct distribution channels. Following the same principle as mushrooms manipulating and killing insects. Respectively, it may be possible that such a virus might have developed in any of the jungles or has been manufactured by humans.
If one interprets it exaggeratedly, many processes in the smallest are based on miscellaneous variants of cannibalism. Somatic cells, microorganisms, symbionts, pathogens,… have a wide range of capabilities for assimilation, control and digestive functions. A vast country, yet to be explored. The short span of time, which can often stand between haute cuisine and cannibalism, is barely aware.
Not even weeks, only days would be enough. One does not associate the reports of humanitarian catastrophes with it and the reporting is silent about it. But what would each individual himself, faced with the choice, do? How quickly would the thin and fragile varnish of sophisticated behavior be wiped away by archaic survival instincts?
Ah, Kannibalismus, das nur bei Menschen so kontroverse Thema. Die Aufnahme der Kraft des Feindes. Die friedlichere Variante war der Endokannibalismus, mit dem man die Familiemitglieder durch deren Verzehr ehrte. Die einzige in der modernen Welt verbliebene Form ist das verbreitete Essen von Plazentas. Auch nach der Fortpflanzung geht der Kannibalismus im Mutterleib auf verschiedene Arten weiter. Haiarten, bei denen sich die Umgeborenen gegenseitig auffressen. Kinder, die an der Mutter snacken.
Weil sie keinen Unterschied zwischen Futter und eigenen Kindern machen. Daher sind diese gut beraten, keine Beziehung zu ihnen aufzubauen. Daher muss noch ein unbekannter Faktor im Spiel sein. Die medizinischen Anwendungen zeugen von der kuriosen Geschichte der Heilkunst. Die Psyche isst und heilt mit. Was ein grenzwertige Hypothese aufwirft: Von direkten Verbreitungswegen ganz zu schweigen. Nach dem gleichen Prinzip, wie Pilze Insekten manipulieren. Die kurze Zeitspanne, die oft zwischen Haute Cuisine und Kannibalismus stehen kann, ist kaum bewusst.
Mar 31, Olive abookolive rated it really liked it Shelves: See my review on my booktube channel: Mar 25, Jenny adultishbooks rated it really liked it Shelves: Utterly fascinating piece of non-fiction that is easy-to-follow, accessible, and snarky. Still, it was haunting and chilling but totally gave compelling reasons for why some societies turned to cannibalism and discussed how it became taboo.
You start asking yourself, "Would I eat someone if I were hungry enough? I don't want to know, thank you. The book builds from the cannibalism I'm least interested in bugs to the shit that I peak around corners at so smart move, Bill. Oct 12, Stephanie rated it really liked it Shelves: Accessible, well written, avoids being sensational. A lot of interesting history. Maybe i'll write a better review one day, maybe not, but I am very glad to have read this book and definitely recommend it.
Nov 07, Jeanette rated it liked it. What to say about this non-fiction read that I thought would be more "scientific" than it was? Closer to a 2. Yes, but then I rounded it up for the first half. Because those sections hold chapters of information in the kind of microscopic and observable detail of physicality "eyes" that I anticipated the entire volume would have.
Those form chapters of classified invertebrates and the precise definition of the various categories of cannibalism were all 4 or 5. As were the toad species tadpoles and the other amphibian inclusions. He tries to be funny. A few times he seems instead flippant. That's forgiven, considering the subject. But I didn't find the over all tone of instruction to what was happening in nature or the past or the historical aspects to be one that was predominantly accurate.
There are all kinds of assumptions that I would never include in a book that seems to be categorized as "natural history" on its cover. Theory for some far past sections dinosaur and Neanderthal ones especially were actually more misleading in theories than in science based information.
And I do repeat myself, I know. The more a non-fiction book STAYS on the topic of the title and focuses on a narrow band of information in detail and record, the better it becomes. Here he wanders into immense historical tangent and entire past era 10 or 12 page "other" information. Not at all focused on the practice of the title except to a minute portion of a supposition upon the "possibility" and a history interpretation, for the most part, that has little or nothing to do with the topic subject except in a far tangent sense.
As if you had to teach the entire alphabet to your child, ever time you read a chapter of their bedtime story book to them. And what he chooses to pick for the "instruction" tangent? Well, it's more about his own soapbox or two than it is anything at all in strictures or patterns of cannibal practice described. What did I learn? Only the size differential and special parts adaptions of certain broods coming from the same batch of fertilization.
And a couple other minor bird and fossilized feces study facts. The second half of the book was a 2 at the most. This is not hard science and it is mostly taught theory or entire tracts of guessing suppositions. But what proof and evidence in it was interesting to me. Because I try to keep up with the anthropology and forensics literature, studies, further interpreted copy upon the homo species especially- this reciting all the half accurate "past" proofs or finds recited histories was not a fit for me.
Sometimes he spent pages and pages to "teach" what is theory and not at all proven but which he has swallowed whole piece himself. And the definitions are also murky in those chapters too.
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No more so than in his era categories and homo species crossover information that he tells "as assumed" truth. All homo category populations do and have practiced cannibalism under dire circumstances. And earlier homo species and modern man in tribal conflicts have almost all done so as well. He makes it sounds an exception when it never was. The section on prion diseases, I also found questionable to completely "true". Kuru disease is the one attached to cannibal practices and as a group those diseases are not as simplistic or as related to eating brains either as he makes it out to be.
Not a fan of any non-fiction that has a narrow focus in the title, and then doesn't stay on that focus. He also tried to entertain in a kind of garish dark humor that often fell awkwardly. But the first half had some nifty drawings and proofs for nature in how it has evolved to have the best offspring survive bad situations like a quickly drying puddle. By turns hilarious and horrific, this book will have you quoting curious facts at people like a ghoulish child given The Bumper Book Of Cannibal Facts by an imprudent aunt. And if those people don't edge away from you, you know the right people.
Consider curious amphibian order the caecilians, some of whom lay eggs and some birth live young, but all of whom consume non-lethal quantities of their mothers in early life. Or that eating the placenta is thoroughly ubiquitous among those mammals who h By turns hilarious and horrific, this book will have you quoting curious facts at people like a ghoulish child given The Bumper Book Of Cannibal Facts by an imprudent aunt.
Or that eating the placenta is thoroughly ubiquitous among those mammals who have them - except for humans, and camelids. True, certain hippyish fractions of the middle-class are trying to upend that exception though presumably not because they want to differentiate themselves from alpacas , which obviously gives Schutt an excuse to put his mouth where his money is and chow down.
How does it taste? Well, I can't give everything away here, can I? Broadly speaking, the book's divided in two, covering animal cannibalism first before moving on to people - though of course the BSE scandal, with which Schutt concludes at a little too much length, ultimately bridges both via the kuru links. But many themes recur throughout - most notably the widespread Western repulsion at the very notion, which has manifested both in a lack of proper research into the topic until quite recently, and in using cannibal panics as a convenient shield for the expropriation of everyone from mediaeval Jews to indigenous populations.
Indeed, it even manages to twist back on itself in the latter-day notion that there have never been societies where cannibalism was standard and it has always been a calumny - a claim which at once ignores vast swathes of evidence, and demonstrates exactly the same hegemonising notion of universal moral norms which it affects to oppose. There are some quite affecting and emotionally plausible quotes here from members of tribes in Brazil and New Guinea who are as appalled by the notion of putting dead loved ones in the damp, unwelcoming earth or leaving them for the maggots and worms as we'd be by serving them up at the wake.
And even away from the wild places of the Earth there's a fascinating chapter on China, where the Western taboo has never had the same hold even before you consider how many apocalyptic famines that land has seen; there, cannibalism as an act of filial piety has a long and surprising history which mirrors the tendency among some fish to eat a few of the kids because, after all, they have plenty left or indeed all of them especially if there aren't many left because, after all, at that point they're probably not going to make it anyway. And this sense of correspondences is something else which recurs throughout, though Schutt never fully interrogates it.
It's suggested that those peculiar snails which fire love darts at their intendeds may have inspired the notion of Cupid's arrows - but given how inept the ancients could be at observing nature even on a much larger scale, is that really likely? In many ways it would be more plausible to suggest as per that wonderful line about birth metaphors in Carey's Lucifer that Cupid is the reality for which these snails are the metaphor.
Or simply that the human mind is powerfully adapted to find echoes and parallels all over the shop. Amongst many surprising chapters, perhaps the most startling is the one on cannibalistic medicine - in which we learn how cures such as mummy powder and skull moss persisted in the West until a lot later than you'd think, even while eating the dead in a non-medical sense was being used as a convenient excuse for annihilating the barbarous Caribs et al.
The black comedy is only amplified when it turns out that the idea of mummy powder as a curative in the first place probably stemmed from a translation error. However, despite his frequent and very fair jabs at unscientific fits of morality, and despite opening with a Hannibal Lecter quote and a section on Ed Gein, Schutt later falls prey to the former and neglects the likes of the latter two, mostly dodging the topic of cannibal serial or spree killers.
He claims rather flimsily that this is out of sensitivity to the victims and not wanting to glorify "psychopaths" already amply covered elsewhere. Which is uncharacteristically feeble, not least in lumping the scrupulously consensual cannibal Armin Meiwes in with the genuinely evil.
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And what about Sawney Bean? Surely his victims' families are all safely under the sod now, and I'd consider him the joint most notorious historical cannibal with the Donner party, who are covered in a fair amount of detail. Still, that fumble aside this is a great read. Refused on Netgalley, got a physical review copy instead. Feb 21, R K rated it liked it Shelves: Want to make people look twice?
Read this book daringly in public. You're guaranteed to get head's turning. What can I say about this book? It's exactly what it says it is, the history of cannibalism. Bill Schutt takes a scientific and culture approach to this so taboo topic. We first warm ourselves by seeing how nature views this "taboo" only to learn that nature could care less.
In the world of eat or be eaten, you use everything you can to survive, even if that mean you eat your own undevelope Want to make people look twice? In the world of eat or be eaten, you use everything you can to survive, even if that mean you eat your own undeveloped siblings. Schutt goes to show in nature how creatures have evolved to best survive and feed, even if that mean they must resort to eating their own species.
He also brings up interesting dinner table conversations such as: If a species resorts to cannibalism as a means to survive, is it still taboo? What if the victim doesn't die but has evolved a tougher skin that its offspring eats in order to grow? In this case, no one dies nor is unwilling. Is it still wrong, especially if growth rate and thus, survival rate is higher?
What about species that live life normally but then sacrifice themselves during the mating process talk about dedication 0. Means of survival 2. Mating and all it's intricacies 4. Dominance but not so frequent. He also debunks a lot of myths that surround many animals such as the praying mantis and polar bears. However, when it comes to humans, turns out we're much more darker which by now shouldn't be a shocker to anyone.
Like I said, Schutt clearly states that this book is only approaching the topic from a scientific and cultural view. So put your excitement away film and horror fanatics. This book isn't discussing that. Yet, after the halfway mark, we start to look at humans, and things get gruesome. One of the most foreboding uses of cannibalism to learn about was not the actual act of cannibalism but how it was used as essentially a weapon. We often see in movies and books how explorers fall onto the Island where a tribe is living and this tribe sudden turn out to be cannibals.
It's a trope used over and over again but has very dark route. You see, a lot of these so called "cannibal tribes" may just be a whole bunch of falsified propaganda. That's right ladies and gentlemen. When the Spanish were off "exploring" the new world, they stumbled onto the indigenous population.
Upon asking Queen Isabel on what to do, she basically said "If they're not Catholic nor following the laws of Catholicisms not willing to convert, then only exert force on them" A bit cruel and harsh but religious freedom and diversity were not really present in those times. So did out Spanish explorers heed her words? They manipulated her words into their advantage. Suddenly areas they had their eyes on or had resources were inhabited by "savage cannibals" that needed to be "educated" But are we surprised by that?
Reading that chapter really made me think which was worse, cannibalism or using it as a means to extort colonialism? Schutt goes into describing some infamous incidents of cannibalism in our history. How it was tampered with by the media. And what new information historians have uncovered.
Turns out, most "dark and gruesome" incidents are fluffed up by media or hidden by the government. It's always one or the other. Schutt also explains why some cultures view it as taboo while others have accepted the strenuous conditions under which cannibalism occurs into their culture. Ultimately, it's a book that's trying to show that cannibalism isn't as unnatural as we make it out to be. He's obviously not advocating for it but rather stating that it happens and that it shouldn't really shock us.
In other words, stop making it the taboo topic to have over dinner because as it turns out, humans also resort to cannibalism under the same conditions as nature with the exception of a 5th reason - our darker side. We really are no better then nature because the only dividing line is our culture and morals. But put us in extreme situations, and our beast side takes over because despite walking and talking, we still are wild creatures in clothing. Jun 12, Annie rated it really liked it Shelves: After finals and the mental slog of having finished my first year of law school, I needed something light, fun, and airy.
I am a Soylent convert, after all. Fascinating, original, comprehensive, and refreshing, this is a very well-done book. Overall, just a very clever, intriguing history. Must-read for any aspiring cannibal. View all 9 comments. Sep 14, K. Charles added it Shelves: A very interesting read from a biologist--funny and personal and non-sensationalised. The British title is Eat Me, which is so much better. Takes a very reasonable attitude to cultural variance and non Western attitudes. Even better, the only account of cannibalism that's dwelt on in an anthropological "look at these people like specimens" way is of the peculiar modern cannibal subculture that's developed in the USA, with a description of a middle-class mum serving placenta for dinner.
This pass A very interesting read from a biologist--funny and personal and non-sensationalised. This passage is hilarious. Lots of grounding in animal behaviour, no dwelling on psychopaths, a very thoughtful book with a lot of delightfully and grimly fascinating stuff. Reminds you we're all meat machines, really.
But not in a bad way. Nov 06, Fiona rated it it was amazing Shelves: This was a very entertaining, thoroughly fascinating look at cannibalism - a much-debated and frequently controversial topic outside of fiction. Bill Schutt has clearly done his research his notes cover the last fifth of the novel! Examples of cannibalism are listed from tadpoles to the now-extinct dinosaurs, and humans are absolutely not exempt from this scrutiny.
I would whole-heartedly recommend this for anyone with an interest i This was a very entertaining, thoroughly fascinating look at cannibalism - a much-debated and frequently controversial topic outside of fiction. I would whole-heartedly recommend this for anyone with an interest in unusual behaviours full stop, let alone just cannibalism; it's incredibly engaging, with a solid base in good science. I kept thinking to myself, "I thought this would be more No, I didn't think that, although I kind of did.
I truly did expect this to be more interesting. A 10,Year Food Fracas , which I couldn't even finish.
Cannibal trial reveals perverse intimacy
No, I didn't finish my milk. Gabe didn't have to suffer listening to me exclaim, out of the blue, I kept thinking to myself, "I thought this would be more Gabe didn't have to suffer listening to me exclaim, out of the blue, "Oh! Guess what I heard in that book about cannibalism? Actually, I was mostly bored with it all up through about the middle. The author first looks at cannibalism in the animal kingdom minus the human animals , from insects to fish, reptiles, and amphibians then to mammals and I learned nothing new. Yes I did - banana slugs. See the quote I liked Maybe for people who haven't watched their rabbit give birth and then eat the babies or hadn't seen orb weavers wrapping up their mates for dinner while the male black widows happily left their girlfriends' houses post-coitally, maybe then this would be a solid foundation from which to launch into the second half of the book: For me, though, it was just a lot of rehashing of stuff I already knew and it was not even put forth in an entertaining fashion.
It was just biology. Well, zoology, I suppose, as the author's a zoologist. So then we get into people eating people and of course the Donner Party plays a big role in getting us motivated to learn about human cannibalism. As the Donner Party's situation plays out on the page, asides about other cannibalistic events in human history are introduced to help bolster the Why's and How's of our famous cannibal camping trip gone wrong.
I did learn some stuff here, I think, but it was so weirdly laid out and explained, I will have to go research the event to find out just what this guy was trying to tell me. Also, why no Alferd Packer? It seems that would have been a good comparison piece. Then we go to China because of all the humans in the world, the Chinese have the best historical records. Thanks to said records, it's possible to find historical traces of documented cannibalism and the worst case ever recorded was during the Great Leap Forward when agriculture became so terribly mismanaged that everyone who wasn't rich was starving and dying.
Now that we have a couple of historical examples of recent people eating people - oh, and of how colonizers love painting locals as cannibals so that we can eradicate them because no one wants to let such sinners stay on this earth And now we can move on to contemporary examples, such as people eating placentas and Keith Richards snorting his father's ashes. The author tries placenta, cooked by the placenta-maker's husband.
I sort of wondered why it had to be cooked to hide the flavor? Why wasn't it just fried up so the author could actually taste it? From there, we read about The Problems of Cannibalism, namely spongiform encephalopathies. Sheep get it and it's called scrapie because it makes them feel like scraping themselves on fence posts , cows get it through being fed ground-up sick cows in the form of protein powder and it's called mad cow disease and you have to walk through sanitization stations if you're trekking through Scotland during an outbreak, and, of course, people get it from eating people and it's called Creutzfeldt—Jakob disease and kuru which you may have learned about in that one episode of "Bones".
Cannibalism: A Perfectly Natural History by Bill Schutt
This is all pretty interesting, especially tracking kuru through the indigenous people of New Guinea but it also seemed a bit gossipy and glossed over, like we're hurrying on to the good stuff. Because that's what it was, a gossipy jump to the good stuff. Finally, we got to the part I was waiting for: When cannibalism isn't motivated by forces of nature overpopulation, starvation, continuation of your DNA and removal of rival DNAs, etc , why does it happen?
Well, see, he isn't here for sensationalism, which he states a few times throughout the book, despite beginning it all with a quote from Hannibal Lector as well as the tale of Edward Gein who was the inspiration for both Norman Bates and Buffalo Bill. I am also not here for sensationalism.
I honestly wanted to know why cannibalism happens in the animal kingdom when it doesn't have to. I think the author's thoughts on that took up maybe a page. And then he ends with a dire prediction which could quite possibly come true. The whole thing is mostly dry but not deep.