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Serpent And The Rainbow: A Harvard Scientist's Astonishing Journey Into...Voodoo, Zombies...

Author: Davis, Wade

Synopsis
Reissued to coincide with the release of One River--a chronicle of Davis' exploration of the Amazon rain forest--The Serpent and the Rainbow presents the author's account of his venture into the heart of Haiti, on a search for a powerful sedative--a "zombie drug." "Exotic and far-reaching."--The Wall Street Journal.

Synopsis
This book "is an anecdotal and personal account by Davis, an ethnobotanist who pursued research on zombification in Haiti. During the course of several field trips, Davis discovered the neuropharmacological properties of plant and animal substances that explain how zombies are made. Davis also became enmeshed in the social web of Haitian society and {attempts to} depict the historical forces that led to the intertwined relationships between cults and secret societies on the one hand, and the government on the other." (Libr J) Glossary. Annotated bibliography. Index.

From The Publisher
The Serpent and the Rainbow combines anthropological investigation with a remarkable personal adventure to illuminate and finally explain a phenomenon that has long fascinated Americans.

Reviews
From Judith Gleason - The Times Literary Supplement 
Haitian intellectuals, deeply involved in their country's traditions, view with alarm a book which, whatever its obvious merits, has the effect of perpetuating an ethnocentric stereotype. . . . Although temperamental factors may have limited Davis's perception of the texture of the society he sought to grasp, among the strengths of his book is the section on the historical background to the institutions and events he describes. . . . Nor should critical antidotes, needed as they are, act to deprive serious readers of invaluable information on indigenous pharmaceuticals as means of social control. Such information {this work} provides.
 
From Anne Locatelli - CM 
Davis is not only an enthusiastic and proficient scientist, he is also a writer par excellence. His command of the English language, his feeling for the right word in the right place, and his keen perception, combine with a stunning power of description that fascinate and compel one to read on to the end of the book as fast as possible. Although the final secret of the zombification techniques is not fully revealed, many possible theories are presented and much light is shed on the subject in this well-documented study.
 
From Michael Berry - Saturday Review 
{This book} is certain to enthrall both the lay and the scientifically minded reader. Although Davis sometimes seems a little too pleased with his owningenuity, he tells his incredible tale in a straightforward, highly readablemanner. His book will go a long way toward dispelling many of the unfortunate myths surrounding Haiti, 'the Voodoo Isle.'
 
From Library Journal 
The book is an anecdotal and personal account by Davis, an ethnobotanist who pursued research on zombification in Haiti. During the course of several field trips, Davis discovered the neuropharmacological properties of plant and animal substances that explain how zombies are made. Davis also became enmeshed in the social web of Haitian society and depicts the historical forces that led to the intertwined relationships between cults and secret societies on the one hand, and the government on the other. The book lacks the kind of completeness that might be of interest to anthropologists, ethnobotanists, and medical specialists; it is more of a personal narrative, a diary of discovery, interesting to the public at large, but leaving specialists with a number of unanswered questions. Preferred Choice Book Plan main selection. Winifred Lambrecht, Anthropology Dept., Brown Univ., Providence, R.I.
 
From Jim Haskins - The New York Times Book Review 
This book smacks of show business from the beginning. . . . The writing is lyrical, the story is a romantic, highly readable combination of Haitian history, folklore and culture, not to mention pharmacology and ethnobotany; but it is unsatisfying because it is not completely any of the above. In the absence of empirical proof for his discoveries, either pharmacological or sociological, Mr. Davis, his identification as a 'Harvard scientist' notwithstanding, must be adjudged a tourist in voodooland, and his book of dubious scientific value.
 
     

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Serpent And The Rainbow: A Harvard Scientist's Astonishing Journey Into...Voodoo, Zombies... 0684839296
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