alyssa_watson's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed this book. I picked it up at half-price books on the clearance shelf. I expected a deep dive into the world of zombies, but this book is so much more than that. It explores much more than just the science of making a zombie. The book reads well. I found it entertaining and able to keep my attention easily. As a reader of primarily non-fiction books, this was worth the read.
reanimatedreader's review against another edition
4.0
Tongue in cheek look at how the nature can provide examples of zombie behaviour that have been attempted in mammals, sometimes in humans. Very interesting read for the zombie fan.
books_n_pickles's review against another edition
3.0
I must admit, part of the pleasure of reading this book was seeing the glances I got on the subway--uh-oh, that scrawny woman is planning to take over the world! Yep, watch out.
I even had one conversation to that effect, when a guy struck up a conversation asking about my plans. Naturally, I will not reveal them to anyone but my evil henchcat. The chief delight of the conversation was getting to shut down his attempted mansplanining by countering with details of Haitian zombie beliefs--because I'm the one reading the book, dang it, so don't you try to tell me that like it's news.
Anyway, this was a very fun book to read. It was wide-ranging, from actual zombie culture, to efforts to keep organs alive for transplanting, to brain death, to US and Soviet mind-control experiments with chemicals and implants, to parasites that hijack other animals' brains. Despite the variety, the book doesn't feel cobbled together. The chapters lead into each other and refer back to previous chapters--while they could be reworked to stand alone, they don't feel like a collection of individual pieces brought together for the heck of it.
Why only three stars? Because I am a fiction/narrative lover at heart. The information does flow well, but the overarching narrative--the effort to build a zombie--is so infrequently present that it starts to feel a bit forced when it does show up. While we learn the theory of building a zombie, the author never quite manages to pull it all together, to talk about the practical aspects of the impending zombie apocalypse. A concluding chapter combining some of the earlier discussions might have helped. But then, that might have ended up looking even more forced than the random hints in the middle of a naturally progressing discussion.
Fun book, would recommend for the content! Just be ready to be a bit of a hypochondriac toward the end...
I even had one conversation to that effect, when a guy struck up a conversation asking about my plans. Naturally, I will not reveal them to anyone but my evil henchcat. The chief delight of the conversation was getting to shut down his attempted mansplanining by countering with details of Haitian zombie beliefs--because I'm the one reading the book, dang it, so don't you try to tell me that like it's news.
Anyway, this was a very fun book to read. It was wide-ranging, from actual zombie culture, to efforts to keep organs alive for transplanting, to brain death, to US and Soviet mind-control experiments with chemicals and implants, to parasites that hijack other animals' brains. Despite the variety, the book doesn't feel cobbled together. The chapters lead into each other and refer back to previous chapters--while they could be reworked to stand alone, they don't feel like a collection of individual pieces brought together for the heck of it.
Why only three stars? Because I am a fiction/narrative lover at heart. The information does flow well, but the overarching narrative--the effort to build a zombie--is so infrequently present that it starts to feel a bit forced when it does show up. While we learn the theory of building a zombie, the author never quite manages to pull it all together, to talk about the practical aspects of the impending zombie apocalypse. A concluding chapter combining some of the earlier discussions might have helped. But then, that might have ended up looking even more forced than the random hints in the middle of a naturally progressing discussion.
Fun book, would recommend for the content! Just be ready to be a bit of a hypochondriac toward the end...
directorpurry's review against another edition
3.0
CW: This book is not for the squeamish. Animal testing with in-depth descriptions, animal abuse, abuse of the mentally ill, etc. It's all historical, but that doesn't mean it's any less disturbing.
I like some good science, but this was a bit more than I was expecting when I started. Overall, I thought the writing was really excellent, very clear and good at explaining terms when necessary. It gave me the creepy crawlies a lot, but it kind of went hard at some of my personal anxieties/triggers in the final chapter. But I probably deserved it for not knowing what I was getting into!
Really informative, some good explanations of stories I knew before as well as lots of new ones. I don't plan on keeping this, but one of my best friends is pre-med and I plan on gifting this to her - I hope she'll learn something new from this as well!
I like some good science, but this was a bit more than I was expecting when I started. Overall, I thought the writing was really excellent, very clear and good at explaining terms when necessary. It gave me the creepy crawlies a lot, but it kind of went hard at some of my personal anxieties/triggers in the final chapter. But I probably deserved it for not knowing what I was getting into!
Really informative, some good explanations of stories I knew before as well as lots of new ones. I don't plan on keeping this, but one of my best friends is pre-med and I plan on gifting this to her - I hope she'll learn something new from this as well!
laurenbird's review against another edition
3.0
This was a real mixed bag. Some chapters were absolutely fascinating, while others I found myself skimming through with no real interest. I don't really know how to feel about it. I've learned some new fun facts for my next trivia night, I guess?
z3r081's review against another edition
4.0
Overall quite an interesting read. At times it gets quite scientific and a bit confusing but without doubt it certainly gets you thinking.
As I said in my mid-read review I was quite surprised by how many of my 'areas of interest' were covered here.
So if you have any interest in Horror Films, Mental Illness, Human cloning, Exotic Diseases, Mind Control or anything in between then you should give this book a go!
As I said in my mid-read review I was quite surprised by how many of my 'areas of interest' were covered here.
So if you have any interest in Horror Films, Mental Illness, Human cloning, Exotic Diseases, Mind Control or anything in between then you should give this book a go!
dissidentreviews's review against another edition
3.0
Ausführliche Rezension:
http://nouw.com/cwidmann/frank-swains-zombie-zoo-30029133
http://nouw.com/cwidmann/frank-swains-zombie-zoo-30029133
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