Eat Thy Neighbour: A History of Cannibalism

By Daniel Diehl and Mark P Donnelly

Cannibalism is unquestionably one of the oldest and deepest-seated taboos. Even in an age when almost nothing is sacred, religious, moral and social prohibitions surround the topic. But even as our minds recoil at the mention of actual acts of cannibalism there is some dark fascination with the subject. Appalling crimes of humans eating other humans are blown into major news stories and gory movies: both Hitchcock's 'Psycho' and 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre' were based on the crimes of Ed Gein, who is profiled, along with others, in this book. In 'Eat Thy Neighbour' the authors put the subject of cannibalism into its social and historical perspective.

• Language: English
• Publisher: The History Press
• Release date: May 30, 2012
• ISBN: 9780752486772

Reviews for Eat Thy Neighbour

[piratejenny_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is a pretty good overview for the layperson. Well, for people who don't know much about cannibalism--I really don't mean for non-cannibals. Really. Cause ew. Ritual and situational cannibalism are covered in the first half (or almost half, really) of the book, while the rest is an overview of some of the best-known criminal cannibal cases. I did learn some stuff I didn't know, actually. Like the fact that while Alfred Packer was sentenced to death, the sentence was never carried out, and that archaeological evidence now supports his story. All the shows on the History or Learning channels make it seem as if Packer was executed. I also learned that cannibalism has long been a problem in Germany, so there really should have been laws on the books by the time Armin Miewes came around. So if you wanna learn about some stomach-turning criminal cannibals, this is a good book. (And I'm really glad the subject, while it fascinates me, still makes my stomach turn.)