A review by angiediane
Dark Banquet: Blood and the Curious Lives of Blood-Feeding Creatures by Bill Schutt, Patricia Wynne
4.0
I am having a difficult time doing an overall rating for this book. I really enjoyed the first part of this book, on vampire bats - that gets 5 stars. Having worked with them in the past, I found his observations to be spot-on, and I discovered many more fascinating insights on them as well. Schutt provided anecdotes from his personal career and experience, which I liked.
The second part on the specific biology of blood was also very interesting. I was especially intrigued with the historical context and the story of George Washington's last days, which I had not encountered in such medical detail before.
The final part of the book was least diverting for me, but perhaps that is because I am not a huge fan of ticks, mites, and chiggers. While I understand that they are a part of the ecological web of life, I still didn't really care so much for reading about them. Additionally, bedbugs took over a large part of this section of the book, and they have been done to death by the media. Overall, however, I enjoyed the premise of the book. I would love to see him do an entire book on his bat experiences; until then, I plan to look up his scholarly publications, just to learn more about his experiments and conclusions.
The second part on the specific biology of blood was also very interesting. I was especially intrigued with the historical context and the story of George Washington's last days, which I had not encountered in such medical detail before.
The final part of the book was least diverting for me, but perhaps that is because I am not a huge fan of ticks, mites, and chiggers. While I understand that they are a part of the ecological web of life, I still didn't really care so much for reading about them. Additionally, bedbugs took over a large part of this section of the book, and they have been done to death by the media. Overall, however, I enjoyed the premise of the book. I would love to see him do an entire book on his bat experiences; until then, I plan to look up his scholarly publications, just to learn more about his experiments and conclusions.