The Sex Lives of Cannibals: Adrift in the Equatorial Pacific

The Sex Lives of Cannibals: Adrift in the Equatorial Pacific
Average customer rating:

A great escape

Not so good

Drifting through life

Hilarious and Poignant

Fantastic and incredibly realistic

The Sex Lives of Cannibals: Adrift in the Equatorial Pacific
J. Maarten Troost
Manufacturer: Broadway
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0767915305
Release Date: 2004-06-08

Book Description

At the age of twenty-six, Maarten Troost—who had been pushing the snooze button on the alarm clock of life by racking up useless graduate degrees and muddling through a series of temp jobs—decided to pack up his flip-flops and move to Tarawa, a remote South Pacific island in the Republic of Kiribati. He was restless and lacked direction, and the idea of dropping everything and moving to the ends of the earth was irresistibly romantic. He should have known better.

The Sex Lives of Cannibals tells the hilarious story of what happens when Troost discovers that Tarawa is not the island paradise he dreamed of. Falling into one amusing misadventure after another, Troost struggles through relentless, stifling heat, a variety of deadly bacteria, polluted seas, toxic fish—all in a country where the only music to be heard for miles around is “La Macarena.” He and his stalwart girlfriend Sylvia spend the next two years battling incompetent government officials, alarmingly large critters, erratic electricity, and a paucity of food options (including the Great Beer Crisis); and contending with a bizarre cast of local characters, including “Half-Dead Fred” and the self-proclaimed Poet Laureate of Tarawa (a British drunkard who’s never written a poem in his life).

With The Sex Lives of Cannibals, Maarten Troost has delivered one of the most original, rip-roaringly funny travelogues in years—one that will leave you thankful for staples of American civilization such as coffee, regular showers, and tabloid news, and that will provide the ultimate vicarious adventure.

Customer Reviews:

A great escape.......2007-10-02

I am well known among my friends as someone who is bored with any book that is not, often painfully so, educational about the world around me. I don't read to fall asleep, I read and then cannot sleep. This is one of the first books in ages that not only kept my attention without stabbing pains of guilt and dispair but literally had me laughing out loud. It was a nice break from my books of Rwanda, Burma, the U.S. Economy etc etc...

Not so good.......2007-09-17

I thought the book was boring and didn't even finish it. Something was lacking there to draw the reader along through the story.

Drifting through life.......2007-09-15

I read this book on two separate levels: a travelogue by someone for whom life in this part of the world was a complete culture shock, and as a sad reminder of the legacy of colonialism in the Pacific. I enjoyed much of the writing: Mr Troost combines good observational skills with an ability to see humour in much of what he observed. Importantly, Mr Troost can laugh at himself and this is what saves this book from being a self-indulgent memoir.

There are some wonderful anecdotes of life in Kiribati, from the perspective of an American visitor, and some poignant reminders of life and culture prior to colonial exploitation.

The book is worth reading - especially by those who entertain romantic notions about life in the Pacific. For those who seek to understand the people or the politics of the region, other sources will be needed.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

Hilarious and Poignant.......2007-08-31

Maarten Troost's The Sex Lives of Cannibals is many things: educational, poignant, unbelievable at times, and always hilarious. Troost tells his tale of moving to a very remote island in the Pacific when his girlfriend accepts an aid job on Kiribati; to say they didn't precisely know what they were getting into is a bit of an understatement. Maarten goes along, planning on writing the world's greatest novel and instead finding out how the twentieth century has dumped on this beautiful atoll, leaving its citizens trying to make lives out of very little and making the incredible the norm. Along the way he experiences pigs on runways, sharks, sailing between islands amid 25 foot swells, native dancing, an abundance of dogs, World War 2 relics, fish to eat everyday, body surfing, and the Macarena.

Troost has a wonderful way with words, and he pulls you in immediately. His style makes you feel as though you're sitting in the room with him as he recounts stories sometimes so fantastic you find yourself not believing them. He intersperses the book with chapters of actual facts about Kiribati, an area of the world that apparently I'm not alone in knowing almost nothing about. I found myself laughing out loud so often at his descriptions that I know I was bothering my husband as he tried to sleep.

This is a relatively short, fun book that is way more than just a memoir or a piece of non-fiction. While it is indeed hilarious, it's also packed with situations that are just unbelievable for the twentieth and twenty first centuries. In the last few chapters, Troost and his girlfriend move back to the States and have trouble readjusting to the fast-paced life, and I'm afraid I'm going to have trouble readjusting to my narrower view of the world since Troost has introduced me to the gorgeous culture of an isolated Pacific island. Give yourself a treat and indulge in this one. Highly recommended!

Fantastic and incredibly realistic.......2007-07-24

I grew up on Tarawa in the 1970's when it was still a British Colony and my parents were working out there. This book brought back so many wonderful and horrible memories and is so very true to life. My family still operate a 'bubuti' system amongst ourselves!

I am incredibly saddened that such a beautiful place has become so squalid and rundown. As a child the island was so safe we were allowed to run wild. Crime was so low that theft of a bottle of my father's whisky was the main item on the news for 2 days - and there was no Macarena...

Troost captures the warmth, kindness and humour of the I-Kiribati perfectly. His descriptions of the deprivations - water, electricity and the incredible heat (and no air conditioning) and lack of food are perfect. My mother remembers taking my [...]sister to an UK supermarket on a visit home and her announcing loudly "Look mummy, the ship has come in" at the sight of full shelves!

Best book I've read in ages - hilariously funny and a real eyeopener to anyone who believes that Blue Lagoon is the reality of life on a pacific island.

Average customer rating:

Easily the best DL title in years
2 1/2 stars... Probably more for established fans of the series than for newcomers
cannibal moon
Philipson Delivers Again
Cannibal Moon Shines Brightly!

Cannibal Moon (Deathlands)
James Axler
Manufacturer: Gold Eagle
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 0373625871

Book Description

POUND OF FLESH

In the hostile new world of postnuclear America, there are many ways to die, but few are clean or quick. Long ago Ryan Cawdor and his band threw in their lot together—to do or die trying. It was a pact sealed in blood, one of selï¬‚ essness and sacriif ce that put a premium on the value of loyalty, friendship and honor—and the blind faith that survival is a better option than certain death.

FEEDING FRENZY

Compassion is a luxury in a brutal land where life is cheap, but Dr. Mildred Wyeth holds fast to her physician's oath to show mercy. Now she's stricken by a plague that brings on a deep craving for human ï¬‚ esh. Unwilling to lose one of their own to this pervasive pestilence without a if ght, the companions follow the trail to Cajun country, where the mysterious queen of the Cannies is rumored to possess the only antidote to the grim fate that awaits Mildred— and perhaps her warrior friends.

Customer Reviews:

Easily the best DL title in years.......2007-06-04

I'll say it right off the bat: Cannibal Moon is without a doubt the best Deathlands title I have read in years. In fact, it is in my opinion one of the best of the entire series.

Right off the bat the book avoids the trap that so many past books in the series fall into. You know the tired old setup - the companions jump into a new redoubt, often with a jump nightmare sequence, explore the redoubt, maybe fight a few squatters or animal invaders, wander away from the redoubt to find the nearest ville, and then get trapped in the evil schemes of the local Baron. It usually takes a third of the book just to get to the main conflict of the story, and that conflict is usually xeroxed from a dozen previous books in the series. Not so with Cannibal Moon.

The first smart thing the author does is starts right in the middle of the action, setting up Mildred to be captured by a group of Cannies while defending a small ville. Within the first few pages Mildred is infected by the virus that causes the oozies and turns the victim into a cannibal. Hot on the heels of that happening, the companions learn about the Cannibal Queen who threatens to overrun all of the Deathlands with her rapidly growing Cannie army. The companions are faced with traveling into the very heart of enemy territory against hopeless odds in order to save their friend and to put an end to the Cannie threat. All of that setup happens in the first few pages, and the story quite literally crackles with action from that point forward.

The author fills in important back story along the way, but doesn't spoon-feed it to the reader. It would be easy to miss little details, like the fact that it takes the companions several jumps before they reach a redoubt close enough to their destination to set out on foot. None of those jumps are explicitly depicted, but instead are referred to quickly in passing. If it doesn't have a direct bearing on propelling the story forward, the book doesn't waste ink on it. The end result is a tight, gripping adventure with nary a moment to catch your breath along the way.

After so many years of decline with only a few bright spots along the way, I really hope this book was a sign of things to come. There are several more books in the pipeline from this author, and I look forward to them all.

2 1/2 stars... Probably more for established fans of the series than for newcomers.......2007-06-04

Imagine a world decimated by nuclear war in which there are only two sides, cannibals and humans desperately struggling not to become food. Dr. Mildred Wyeth and her companions are caught in a fight against the "cannies" (as cannibals are called) when Mildred gives chase to two cannies who have stolen four children. Unfortunately, she is captured and infected with the "oozies", a plague that will soon leave her like the cannies she despises. Will Mildred and the others be able to find the mythical cure for the "oozies" or will Mildred become yet another victim in this harsh and unforgiving world?

Let me preface this by saying that this is my first book in the Deathlands series so fans of the series may view things in an entirely different light. James Axler is a publishing house name for a variety of different authors, and in this case the author is Alan Philipson. Mr. Philipson has a definite gift for producing very vivid visual images, although, perhaps too visual for some readers. While I am generally not squeamish, having read my fair share of horror novels (including numerous zombie books), CANNIBAL MOON left me feeling a bit nauseous at times. The bleak setting for CANNIBAL MOON is more than adequately conveyed to the reader as one can feel the sense of despair emanating from the very pages of the storyline.

CANNIBAL MOON is chock full of adventure. In fact, the action is non-stop from the very first page to the very last page. Fans of the series will probably already have developed some sense of the characters but for new readers, it is very difficult to form any sort of attachment to the characters. The first half was very exciting and it was difficult to put the book down, in spite of the rather gruesome images. However, as the story progressed, I found I wanted to know more outside of the endless battles against the cannies. Only towards the very end did a picture of "Doc" begin to emerge and it was actually the cannie, Georgie Tibideau Junior who really had the most character development other than Mildred. The author's constant use of "mebbe" instead of "maybe" was also a bit jarring as it didn't always seem to flow with the colloquial speech of some of the characters.

CANNIBAL MOON is only one installment of a long running and apparently very successful series. Fans of the series will most likely appreciate this bleak tale of a post apocalyptic world in which only the strong survive. Non-stop action and very vivid imagery are key elements of this tale and readers new to the series will need to carefully evaluate to determine if CANNIBAL MOON is to their tastes.

COURTESY OF CK2S KWIPS AND KRITIQUES

cannibal moon.......2007-05-07

This is one of the best in the Deathlands series I've read.. I had a hard time putting the book down. Lots of action! Looking forward to the next book comming in June.

Philipson Delivers Again.......2007-03-26

Cannibal Moon would be awesome as a Romero or Rodriquez horror flick. Check it out for yourself: there's a sample of the beginning of this book up on AP's website, [...]. It's a race against time into the jaws (literally) of death. Buckets of gore and even yuckier stuff. Lots of once-human monsters to fight. A worse fate than death if the heroes fail. And a trademark Al Philipson twisted ending.

I usually wouldn't write a review because the book speaks for itself but the complaint in the first review herein misses the entire point of the Deathlands books. They aren't Hallmark greeting cards or Dr. Phil. They have never been about the companions wringing their hands or making goo-goo eyes at each other. They are about surviving at all costs against bad odds, making hard moral choices, and living with the consequences. That's why they call it "Deathlands" instead of "Lovelands". What Deathlands does at its best is offer up a ripping, can't put it down action read like Cannibal Moon. If anyone is reading this genre for "deep characterization," or if they're reading this genre and hate fight scenes, they need to get a life.

Philipson is way too funny and talented to be ghost-writing on a house-owned series like this forever. I'm looking forward to when he comes out with something of his own and soon-it will be a knockout.

Cannibal Moon Shines Brightly!.......2007-03-21

In the latest Deathlands novel, James Axler,(aka Alan Philipson in this particular volume), creates a whole new scenario never before seen in a Deathlands novel before.

Along with what is probably the most accurate cover artist design yet by this new artist, (who still can't seem to see the picture perfect Ryan Cawdor design by the much missed Michael Herring), Alan Philipson throws the reader right into the exciting mix of action/adventure in the first chapter that Deathlands fans are known to expect. It is truly a great start.

Philipson starts not with the companions awakening from a new jump, but instead starts with Ryan and the companions fighting off a large, heavily-armed cannibals who are overrunning a ramshackle ville, stealing children for future meals. Mildred starts out Chapter 1 as a lone pursuing rescuer of the captured children being carried away into the foothills of the dark mountain caves of the cannibals. Mildred battles a group of cannibals inside a den of sin, but only manages to get captured herself. When she awakens to find herself a captive of the cannies, she realizes that these cannies are capable of force her to eat their dead, thus infusing her with a verile virus plague that Mildred has learned can be spread by the eating of the infected flesh, or the drinking of blood.

Having been force-fed human flesh by her cannie captors, Mildred finds herself horrifically infected to become a cannie, creating a deep craving for human flesh. Mildred is forced to make a secret pact with Ryan to chill her if this happens.

Mildred and the companions then find out about a possible cure from a cannie prisoner, learning of a freezie woman who has become Queen of the Cannies back in Jak Lauren's homeland in the bajous of Louisiana.

Alan Philipson does a splendid job here of creating one of the darkest chapters in the ever-growing Deathlands saga. And he does a pretty good job of keeping the main Deathlands character 'in character'. Especially that of Mildred and Doc Tanner. There are some very interesting tidbits of these two characters during some interesting discourse between them and Ryan.

But also, therin lies the rub of the problem in this new Deathlands adventure. Philipson starts out solid enough, but fails to show the deep affection that J. B. Dix has for his woman, Mildred. Even though I'm an action/adventure junkie, I personally thought this novel would have shined more with a bit more drama and less action. The long-time readers and diehard fans like me would much more prefer a dramatic showing of the companions battling their inner fears of one of their own being possibly infected with something as verile as a cannie plague. The love and caring between J. B. and Mildred is not present here, and Jak becomes much too cold towards his friends here.

That should have been reverse. The readers must be engrossed with the main characters' inner feelings and deep caring for one another. Just being 'tough' and/or a chilling machine is not enough. You must show the love and courage between the companions to keep the readers fully immersed in keeping up with these characters with each and every volume. The characters have to grow. But they have unfortunately grown stagnant.

Why does Ryan go through hell here to save Mildred, but doesn't do everything in his power to find his own son, Dean? That alone should be the central theme running in this series now. The original writer, the late great Laurence James would have done it so. (And he had actually done just that in a few books.)

And I wondered why and how everyone seemed to be so heavily-armed? From norms in convoys to the cannies themselves - everyone had tons of RPGs and machine guns and ammo. Where did all of this come from? A redoubt? Which One? Why didn't Ryan and the companions wonder at this? To have both a car and a weapon with bullets in Deathlands is paramount to being something akin to being rich. Now everyone has high-powered weapons? Not having anything, along with the scrounging of weapons and food, along with the savagery of post-nuke America was the allure of reading a Deathlands novel.

But some great things shone brightly in this new DL adventure. The Deathlands companions get introduced to the rock band ZZ Top. That was done very well. Something that the original writer used to expound upon. Also there is a jump dream sequence that was handled with aplomb. It was things such as this that gave Cannibal Moon a feel for the old days of DL, along with a new touch that has been much needed.

But this installment of Deathlands IS a step above the last two novels, which were written by Nick Polatta, who usually writes some of the most outstanding stories. And who is also going to be the writer of the upcoming next volume, titled Sky Raider.

But despite some of my personal misgivings, Cannibal Moon is still worth reading for diehard fans of this series. And for newbies who don't know any better, and haven't read the older volumes, this should come across as a rousing adventure. What the writers need to pay attention to, more than anything, is the search for Dean, as well as their feelings for one another. This is only touched upon nowadays, if not totally ignored altogether.

Thanks Alan Philipson for giving us another exciting adventure. Although this one was fun, I still think your debut novel, Skydark, along with the duo novels, Shadow World and Breakthrough, are your best yet. And I'm sure this author's next endeavor will be something new and exciting, showing DL readers a fresh scenario never before used nor seen.

Cannibals and Kings: Origins of Cultures

Average customer rating:

A classic!
I Liked It!
Why Read Fiction?
A contribution to cultural anthropology...
Cannibals and Kings: A Disorganized View of Culture

Cannibals and Kings: Origins of Cultures
Marvin Harris
Manufacturer: Vintage
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 067972849X
Release Date: 1991-06-04

Book Description

In this brilliant and profound study the distinguished American anthropologist Marvin Harris shows how the endless varieties of cultural behavior -- often so puzzling at first glance -- can be explained as adaptations to particular ecological conditions. His aim is to account for the evolution of cultural forms as Darwin accounted for the evolution of biological forms: to show how cultures adopt their characteristic forms in response to changing ecological modes.

"[A] magisterial interpretation of the rise and fall of human cultures and societies."

-- Robert Lekachman, Washington Post Book World

"Its persuasive arguments asserting the primacy of cultural rather than genetic or psychological factors in human life deserve the widest possible audience."

-- Gloria Levitas The New Leader

"[An] original and...urgent theory about the nature of man and at the reason that human cultures take so many diverse shapes."

-- The New Yorker

"Lively and controversial."

-- I. Bernard Cohen, front page, The New York Times Book Review

Customer Reviews:

A classic!.......2007-03-01

Great work in the realm of cultural materialism.

A very good toss into Dr. Harris.

I Liked It!.......2006-11-10

I had to read this book for a class and I was plesently surprised. The author brings up some interesting topics that really make you think.

Why Read Fiction?.......2006-08-26

Marvin Harris' "Cannibals and Kings" is one of those classic anthropological, historical studies that makes reading non fiction fun. The phenomenon of solving riddles of humanity with a smile on your face, constantly nodding and saying stuff like "yeah that makes sense" and "damn this guys good" begs the question: Why care about Harry Potter? While Harris is more theatrical and less scientific in nature than predecessor's like Jared Diamond, the sheer wit of his arguments will move you. Furthermore unlike reading most fiction, during "Cannibals and Kings" you really are growing sager with each turn of the page. So if you're looking for a practical understanding of human evolution that's more entertaining than fiction then buy this book.

A contribution to cultural anthropology..........2005-05-08

I had to read this book for my introduction to cultural anthropology class last semester. Though I found parts of it to be dry, the work as a whole was eye opening. It does a good job of identifying patterns and evaluating the evolution of civilizations from hunting to aggrerian to imperialist societies, and onward.

However, I felt that Harris took a very naturalistic approach and underestimated the power of free will. He described everything as being systematic and, although he mentions free will in his conclusion, makes the evolution of civilization seem controlled solely by circumstance and necessity.

Nevertheless, he provides a plausible explanation for why civilizations evolve the way they do and why some advance faster or in different ways than others. I recommend this book for those interested in a possible explanation of cultural evolution. For those looking for a more introductory book to cultural anthropology that covers more ground (but is more brief), I recommend "Culture as Given, Culture as Choice" by Van Der Elst.

Cannibals and Kings: A Disorganized View of Culture.......2001-01-22

This book focused on several of the components of culture. It was disorganized because there is little continuity between topics and the general theme is that resources produce cultures. Complicated at times, the book was not difficult to read, but tedious. Another problem with Cannibals and Kings is its focus on female infanticide. It never clearly described why exactly females were killed insted of males. It answers the title by describing why there are/were cannibals in the world and later talk about kings and how kingdoms evolved. This book does give the reader a better understanding of how civilizations formed. The conclusion was inconclusive at best. The Epilogue explains that unless technology improves, the living standard will inevitably fall. Although this may be true, it does not account whether this will be true for the western world only or for the third world or both. This book is worth reading to get a better understanding of the connection between supply and demand and why cultures evolved.

The Triumph of the Thriller: How Cops, Crooks, and Cannibals Captured Popular Fiction

Average customer rating:

Changing Times
Enjoyable but Flawed
Well it was bound to be subjective and patchy
Too Narrow a Focus
Take the Beginning, Forget the Rest

The Triumph of the Thriller: How Cops, Crooks, and Cannibals Captured Popular Fiction
Patrick Anderson
Manufacturer: Random House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0345481232
Release Date: 2007-02-06

Book Description

There’s been a revolution in American popular fiction. The writers who dominated the bestseller lists a generation ago with blockbuster novels about movie stars and exotic foreign lands have been replaced by a new generation writing a new kind of bestseller, one that hooks readers with crime, suspense, and ever-increasing violence. Patrick Anderson, The Washington Post’s man on the thriller beat, calls this revolution “the triumph of the thriller,” and lists among its stars Thomas Harris, Michael Connelly, George Pelecanos, Dennis Lehane, Sue Grafton, and Elmore Leonard.

In his provocative, caustic, and often hilarious survey of today’s popular fiction, Anderson shows us who the best thriller writers are–and the worst. He shows how Michael Connelly was inspired by Raymond Chandler, how George Pelecanos toiled in obscurity while he mastered his craft, how Sue Grafton created the first great woman private eye, and how Thomas Harris transformed an insane cannibal into the charming man of the world who made FBI agent Clarice Starling his lover.

Anderson shows Scott Turow inventing the modern legal thriller and John Grisham translating it into a stunning series of bestsellers. He casts a cold eye on Tom Clancy’s militaristic techno-thrillers, and praises Alan Furst and Robert Littell as world-class spy novelists. He examines the pioneering role of Lawrence Sanders, the offbeat appeal of Dean Koontz, the unprecedented success of The Da Vinci Code, and the emergence of the literary thriller.

Most of all, Anderson demands that the best of these novelists be given their due–not as genre writers, but as some of the most talented men and women at work in American fiction. Don’t trust the literary elites to tell you what to read, he warns–make up you own minds. The Triumph of the Thriller will convince many readers that we’ve entered an important new era in popular fiction. This book can be your guide to it.

Customer Reviews:

Changing Times.......2007-09-01

Beyond a doubt, the best seller lists of today bear little resemblance to best seller lists of the '50s and '60s that were dominated by novels about movie stars, sex, money and the wanton lifestyles of those who had more money than sense. Those lists were dominated by writers like Harold Robbins, Irving Stone, Jacqueline Susann, Herman Wouk and James Michener. According to Anderson, it was the Kennedy assassination in 1963, the "end of innocence for a generation," that made possible a move by the thriller genre to near domination of today's best seller lists.

The Triumph of the Thriller is perfect for those readers not familiar with the thriller genre because Anderson provides its history beginning with what he considers to be the "first great crime thriller," Mario Puzo's The Godfather, right up to the best thriller fiction being written today. Along the way he gives credit to those who most influenced today's thriller writers, starting with Raymond Chandler, James M. Cain and Dashiell Hammett, moving on to Mickey Spillane, John D. MacDonald, Ed McBain, Ross MacDonald and Charles Williford, and finishing with today's class.

Anderson finds that the "triumph of the thriller reached a tipping point in 1981" when, for the first time, four thrillers were on the list of the top 15 sellers for the year. Along the way, there were some breakthrough books that made it all possible: Deliverance by James Dickey, First Blood by David Morrell, Six Days of the Condor by James Grady, Dog Soldiers by Robert Stone, The Manchurian Candidate by Richard Condon and The First Deadly Sin by Lawrence Sanders, among them.

My "To Be Read List" has grown by at least three dozen books as a result of chapters in which Anderson discusses the best writers and books in the several sub-genres included under the thriller umbrella. There are chapters titled: "Dangerous Women," "Lawyers at Large," "Spy Masters" and "Literary Thrillers," all of which, added books and writers to my list for future reading. But, I have to admit that it was even more fun to read what Anderson had to say about certain authors that I've learned to avoid over the last few years. He shows them no mercy.

As he says, "They deal in clichés, stereotypes, cheap thrills, and ridiculous plots. Some of them can't help it - that's how their minds work - but others deliberately dumb down their work because a lot of money is made that way." Chief among the culprits? Let's start with James Patterson whom Anderson calls "a writer to avoid at all costs" and whose book The Beach House "unfolds like an unspeakably dumb comic book" that "no one with even a minimal appreciation of good writing could possibly read for pleasure." Anderson believes that Patterson has set the standard for bad writing to such a degree that he even accuses David Baldacci with his Hour Game of having "entered the James Patterson Really Bad Thriller Sweepstakes."

Anderson goes on to skewer Patricia Cornwell (Trace), David Lindsey (The Face of the Assassin), Jeffrey Archer (The Eleventh Commandment), Nicholas Sparks (The Rescue) and Tom Clancy (for everything). With the exception of the fact that I enjoyed some of Lindsey's early work, I have no quarrel with Anderson's assessment of this group. But as Anderson says:

"So what are we to do about all this deplorable fiction? In the long term, our nation must spend fewer billions on foreign wars and more on literacy programs. In the short term, reviewers (heroic fellows, for the most part) must steer people away from this schlock and toward all those good writers out there.

We would also do well to look on the bright side. There is so much wonderful writing. To be a book lover in America today, able to enjoy the wealth of fine writing that we and the rest of the world produce, is to be blessed. Ultimately, the purveyors of crap are only a nuisance."

The bottom line is this. If you are already a lover of thriller fiction, this book will provide you with a quick and easy way to expand your world. If you know little about the genre, maybe even looking down your nose a bit at it and its authors, the book should make you aware of some of the great writing that you've been missing. Then the rest is up to you.

Enjoyable but Flawed.......2007-06-07

In this plea for "middlebrow" culture, novelist and Washington Post book reviewer Anderson argues that since the "thriller" has risen to dominate bestseller lists over the last 25 years, it's high time the genre got taken seriously. While I don't argue with this premise, Anderson's book is only a shaky -- though entertaining -- first step in that direction. An overarching flaw in the book is Anderson's definition of what constitutes a thriller. If you're going to champion a genre, you should at least give a clear explanation of what the genre's parameters are -- but the closest he comes is to call it "crime-related fiction", which is so sweeping as to be of no use whatsoever. Hence, the book suffers greatly in that most of what Anderson writes about is what most would unambiguously call "crime fiction," from Agatha Christie to Elmore Leonard. But lumped in with this are Tom Clancy technothrillers, John Grisham legal thrillers, and John Le Carré spy novels. This is broad and bewildering scope highlights the book's lack of comprehensiveness (which he readily admits to in the introduction), how are we to understand what a thriller is if the above are discussed, but not writers such as Stephen King or Michael Crichton? This, of course, is part of the problem of "genre" as means of categorizing fiction -- the lines are awfully blurry.

The book's arrangement reflects Anderson's loose approach to his topic. The twenty chapters are divided into four sections, and many chapters read as standalone pieces or profiles, with little or no connection between them.The first section is the most coherent, providing a potted history of the origins of the crime genre and its early popularizers, highlighting such luminaries Edgar Allen Poe, Arthur Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie, Dashiell Hammett, James Cain, Raymond Chandler, Micky Spillane, Ed McBain, Ross Macdonald, Charles Willeford (a curious omission is Jim Thompson, whose name appears nowhere in the book). This section gives a taste of Anderson's true strength as a critic, which is a refreshing willingness to dissect the canon and point out its flaws, from bad characterizations to hoary plot devices and plain mean-spiritedness (notable in Chandler).

The next section begins by identifying 1981 as the "tipping point" of the thriller's rise to prominence. This is said to be the culmination of years of shift in the cultural landscape toward "darkness" and greater acceptance of violence, which began with the JFK assassination and was incubated by the Vietnam War, recession, political scandal, and the bleak films of the '70s. He then proceeds with overviews of several pseudo-subgenres So, there is a section on Tom Clancy (representing the technothriller), Sue Grafton and Sara Parestsky (representing women writers, with a mere page allocated to Patricia Highsmith!), Scott Turow, John Grisham, and Jon Lescraoart (legal thrillers), Daniel Silva, Robert Littell, Alan Furst (espionage thrillers), and then a final chunk on "literary thrillers." As notes above, there is nothing connecting these chapters, and it's left to the reader to wonder why some subgenres (if that's what they are) are included and others, such as medical thrillers or scientific thrillers, aren't. The espionage section also highlights another bizarre omission -- Ian Fleming. I suspect one could make a convincing argument that Fleming's terse thrillers (which bear little resemblance to the Bond films) played a huge role in the rise of the genre in America.

In the third section, Anderson moves on to praise "four modern masters" in some detail: Thomas Harris, George Pelecanos, Michael Connelly, and Dennis Lehane. His discussion of Harris (whom I've not read) is quite interesting, but his treatments of the latter three (who have been grouped together by countless other reviewers and profilers) isn't particularly fresh or insightful, and borders on fawning at times. The final section is a complete hodgepodge of odds and ends, including a chapter of "Favorites", another on "Brits", another on "Three Young Writers" (Karin Slaughter, Peter Craig, and Charlie Huston), a chapter of least favorites, and some final thoughts.

In discussing all the various authors, Anderson's mode is to talk about a few specific books in detail, which often results in a ratio of far too much plot synopsis vis a vis critical analysis. Still, it's often worth wading through these potted summaries and spoilers to get to the good stuff. It's the rare book critic in the U.S. who is willing to flat out criticize prose and plot the way Anderson does. In the introduction, he warns readers that he is merely offering his own tastes, and that they may not align with that of the reader -- to wit, fans of James Patterson or Patricia Cornwell may not care for the dismissal he visits on their work. There are occasional missteps in his writing, for example he says Elmore Leonard's work has gotten stellar treatment from Hollywood. This has only been true in recent years, and Leonard has been on record for decades about how he's hated the film versions of most of his work. Another example is how in his praise for the plot of Daniel Silva's bestseller "The Unlikely Spy" (1996) he fails to mention that the book's premise was the basis for three previous bestselling thrillers (1974's The Cooler by George Markstein, 1978's Eye of the Needle by Ken Follet, and 1986's Night of the Fox by Jack Higgins)!

I agree with Anderson's conclusion that the best thriller writers should be considered as talented novelists, however this "anti-genre" conclusion is somewhat at odds with his opening attempt to champion the thriller as a genre. Ultimately, I enjoyed the roundup of reviews and critiquing, but wish the book had been a little more thought out and organized.

Well it was bound to be subjective and patchy.......2007-05-02

Given how thin the book it, it was bound to be quite superficial and selective in its treatment of authors. I have no problem with that. I read this book to get some ideas on who might be good to read now having grown up on the classsics like Chandler, Ross MacDonald and Agatha Christie. Because he does write some quite detailed analyses ( in particular his treatment of Chandler ), the book was bound in other places to just become a litany of "I like this one and the plot is...". That was OK. It was what I wanted. No Harlan Coben was fine with me too. In fact I liked the brief chapter where he put the knife in the authors he really didn't care for best of all.

So, a short book, very subjective, very superficial in parts, very patchy in its coverage. But still pretty interesting for all that.

Too Narrow a Focus.......2007-05-01

When I got this book, I thought, "Finally, a book on thriller." Unfortunately, what I discovered was that the author did what everyone else does when talking about thriller--talk about the crime subgenre as if that's all a thriller is. What happened to the action-adventure thrillers, the medical thrillers, the political thrillers, the romantic thrillers? There's at least a dozen thriller subgenres, but you wouldn't know it from this book. From a book about Thriller, I would have expected more than a discourse on crime fiction.

And why are so few women writers even mentioned? I think I could count the number on one hand.

Unfortunately, this book continues the myth that all thrillers are about crime when they're not. It has too narrow a focus for anything more than one star.

Take the Beginning, Forget the Rest.......2007-03-20

The preface says it all. In the introductory chapter, Anderson gives his view of the genre, reveals what he likes and what he doesn't, makes a good case for crime writers being underappreciated and leaves the reader with a sense that s/he's in the hands of an authority, about to set forth on a journey through thrillers and other forms of crime writing with a guide who has read it all and knows it all.
How unfortunate, then, that the rest of the book is more or less a collection of synopses. The genre is presented in chronological order, basically starting with Dashiell Hammett & Raymond Chandler (and Agatha Christie on the other side of the puddle - but, mysteriously, no Simenon) and Anderson systematically goes through authors and books in chapter after chapter, giving his opinions and resumes.
This makes for dull reading - particularly if the reader is not of the same opinion as the author. (He does not think much of Chandler and less of Ross MacDonald. I love them both.)
The preface is well worth reading, a brisk, refreshing new view of an old form. But after that, the rest is - silence would have been best - simply de trop.

It's Not Okay to Be a Cannibal: How to Keep Addiction from Eating Your Family Alive

Average customer rating:

Excellent for the Addicted and the Family Affected
This is a must-read for EVERY parent
A Must if You Have An Active Addict in Your Life
Parents Need What This Book Offers

It's Not Okay to Be a Cannibal: How to Keep Addiction from Eating Your Family Alive
Andrew T. Wainwright , and Robert Poznanovich
Manufacturer: Hazelden
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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The Addictive Personality: Understanding the Addictive Process and Compulsive Behavior

ASIN: 1592853706

Book Description

Today's top addiction consultants guide families devastated by a loved one's addiction. As countless families can attest, addiction is a disease that destroys families, not just individuals. Secrecy, depression, anger, and confusion are hallmark traits of addicted families. Addiction wrecks the family's home life, consumes the family's financial resources, and depletes the family???s emotional reserves. Now, having helped thousands of families confront addiction, two of the nation's leading interventionists, Robert Poznanovich and Andrew T. Wainwright, have created a survival guide for families. With compelling case histories and real-life scenarios, the authors set forth a practical course ofaction for families to break free from the grip of addiction, a process that culminates with an intervention for the addict. The process liberates and forever changes the family. Even if the addict refuses treatment, truth about addiction has been spoken during the intervention and the family is free to move ahead??? with or without the addict.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent for the Addicted and the Family Affected.......2007-05-13

A must read for anyone dealing with addiction in their family. Gives you a much clearer perspective.

This is a must-read for EVERY parent.......2007-04-17

As a father of 5 children I want to encourage all parents with young children (and those who are still in the planning stage) to read this book. Yes, the book is all about addictions and actually says very little about parenting, per se. But here's what it DOES describe: the seamy underside of life no one wants to talk about until it's (sometimes) too late. I hope none of my children (and none of yours) ever has to go through addictions and withdrawal, but addictions are real. You'd have to live under a rock not to recognize it's a fact of life today.

But it doesn't have to be a fact of YOUR life. And that's the beauty part of this book. Although I'm certain the authors didn't set out to shock readers into recognizing the importance of being an involved parent, it does achieve this better than any other parenting book I've ever read.

In about 150 pages we parents get to see what happens when we overly coddle, forget to establish firm boundaries and lack the personal discipline to discipline. We are treated to the cold, hard outcome when parents replace tough love (the authors call it "clarity") with pacifism. Pacifistic parenting is the kind that says things like, "Here's some money son, go entertain yourself...I'm busy working making money to pay for the stuff we all `need.'" Eventually the kid gets the message and finds something to replace the relationship and structure they're supposed to get from their parents, putting them on a collision course for being a character in this book.

There is a price to pay (sooner or later) and this book gives graphic detail (even from the authors' own lives) of the hell we'll all pay if we continue failing to step up. And trust me; the cost of fixing things when children are young is far cheaper than the cost later on.

A Must if You Have An Active Addict in Your Life.......2007-03-17

This book provided a whole lot of answers to questions I'd had about addiction and the best way to deal with an addict. I heartily recommend it to anyone seeking answers.

Parents Need What This Book Offers.......2007-02-15

I am the program chair for parentshelpingparents.info and one of my roles to review books on addictions and select one as our book of the quarter.

I have selected this book for the second quarter of 2007. It is one of the very best books I have read that communicates to families in a manner that is both direct, loving and honest. I felt like I was in my living room visiting with the author's face to face.

The information presented goes beyond education; it makes an ingenious transition which pierces the wall of denial, we as families, must conquer before progress for our loved one is possible.

Respectfully,

Pat Nichols
Program Chair
Parents Helping Parents, Inc.
Edmond, Ok

Average customer rating:

Disturbing
A good night-time read with minor flaws
A "Must Read"
The Bizarre World Of The Internet Cafe's
Very Intriguing

Cannibal
Lois Jones
Manufacturer: Berkley Pub Group
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Cellar of Horror

ASIN: 0425200663

Book Description

The true story of the maneater of Rotenburg--and his willing victim

German native Armin Meiwes killed and ate a man who answered his ad on a cannibal website. Now, Cannibal discloses for the first time the true story of this real-life Hannibal Lecter--and his willing victim. And with details never before divulged to the public, it takes readers step-by-step through the unspeakable crime that fascinated and revolted the world.

Customer Reviews:

Disturbing.......2007-01-01

As a veteran of many true crime books, this may be the most disturbing one that I have read. While the body count of Armin Meiwes stands at one, the nature of his crime is shocking. The existance of cannibals is nothing new to society. The fact that the victim volunteered for purposes of personal pleasure puts cannibalism into a new perpective.

The crime of Armin Meiwes would not have been possible without the internet and the wide range of sites and chatrooms for cannibals. While many on these sites are posturing, Meiwes was serious as was the man that volunteered to be his victim. Growing up in the village that was home to the Brothers Grimm may have factored into desires that took root in Meiwes early in his life. He began practicing on dolls until the overwhelming desire led him to a real act.

German law could not convict Meiwes of any crime worse than manslaughter. Because the victim was voluntary, the worst possible penalty could not be distributed. In a seemingly more absurd circumstance, Germany has no law against cannibalism.

With quick chapters and quick pace, this book was tough to put down. Lois Jones proves to be a quality writer in this first offering. Having read so many true crime books, this is easily one of the most disturing. If you have a strong stomach as many scenes are quite graphic, I would highly recommend this book.

A good night-time read with minor flaws.......2006-07-13

The book tells us about Armin Meiwes, a German who killed and ate Bernd-Jürgen Brandes, his willing victim. An interesting story, written clear to the point and easy to digest (just like Bernd) with some creepy, gruesome details which make the book worth reading. I finished it within a couple of hours and recommend it to anybody who's interested in contemporary cannibal stories. However, being German myself I feel obligated to point out that i disagree with some of the author's German-English translations. For example he translates "grausam" with "terror". In fact it means "cruel". But oh well, thats just me, the ever-complaining German person.

A "Must Read".......2006-02-01

This book was creepy, yes; but a more accurate discription would be "disturbing". To think that all of this actually happened is almost unbelievable. I didn't even realize, for one thing, there are cannibalism websites, as mentioned in the book, that people actually post that they want to be eaten. It is an upsetting story that is not for the squeamish. It was strange enough, in fact, that I threw it in a dumpster immediately after I read it, because I didn't want it in my house where my young teenage boys might get ahold of it. I am buying another copy because after telling my mother-in-law about it, she wants to read the book.

The Bizarre World Of The Internet Cafe's.......2005-09-27

Well, this book caught my interest originally due to its title.
CANNIBAL with its dark black cover was just sitting there staring out at me from one of the true-crime display stands in a bookstore. I first picked up the book and had a quick glance at it, then began to read bits and pieces from its pages, and before you knew it an hour had gone past.
I was so intrigued by this story that apparently made major news headlines all over the world (I must have been too busy drinking a beer!), that I decided then and there to purchase it. When I eventually settled at home that night, I read over half of it in one sitting, and by the second night I had it finished. The most amazing part was that the edible accomplice of this most unusual crime was more willing than the Cannibal himself. The book was also an eye opener to the true, hard, and sick facts of the internet surfing convenience regarding mentally disturbed beings such as psychopaths lurking every corner of these dark, twisted, and gloomy web sites that our little freak friend Armin Meiwes (Cannibal) lurked at. I was amazed to find so many people out there just as twisted, if not worse, and demented asking for the most extraordinary and incredibly unbelievable fetishistic sexual depravities to be performed on them and or upon others, that I have ever heard of in my entire life. Where the hell are the cops when they need to be around? These loonies make paedophiles look like cartoon characters.
Anyway, the book is written from a journalist's point of view, so it's very reader friendly, and it focuses mainly on the act and aftermath rather than trying to explain the concept and motive behind this depraved crime. It also questions our judicial system about the laws in relation to these most unusual crimes. I believe that there is currently an appeal being lodged to bring charges of murder for a re-trial due to the lenient conviction imposed in the first place.
All you gore hounds out there will definitely enjoy this sick story. After all, they say that fact is more incredible than fiction. This book definitely proves that argument!

Very Intriguing.......2005-03-14

Wow, very graphic, and gory. i work in the medical field and got a little grossed out on this one, however you will know a little more about cannabalism then you ever wished to find out, and also learn what went on in the mind of the one being eaten. I really liked the book though, it was very direct and to the point. Just don't read it while you are having a meal.

The Trial of the Cannibal Dog: The Remarkable Story of Captain Cook's Encounters in the South Seas

Average customer rating:

Beyond the voyages of Cook; examine the brushing of cultures
spanning the cultural divide

The Trial of the Cannibal Dog: The Remarkable Story of Captain Cook's Encounters in the South Seas
Anne Salmond
Manufacturer: Yale University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0300100922

Customer Reviews:

Beyond the voyages of Cook; examine the brushing of cultures.......2004-09-29

When an anthropologist writes history one expects a differant perspective. Still, I was stunned by the insight Ms. Salmond exhibited. Most surprising is how densely this book is filled with small, "throwaway" insights that reveal the nature of Georgian England, the impact of the Enlightenment and even the impact of a society, like our own, where the division of wealth has become so radical.

Most important though, is that this book reveals how the nation of New Zealand has remained a Polynesian country despite its population being overwhelmingly of European descent.

spanning the cultural divide.......2003-12-02

Salmond's superb account of Cook's Pacific exploration tells the story from the perspectives of both Europeans and Polynesians. It places Cook as a 'player' in the islands' internal intrigues and power struggles, especially of the Maori and the Taihitians, while beautifully delineating the various and changing responses of their 'discovers' to the Pacific 'paradise'. Cook's portrayal is highly convincing, and the book assembles a brilliant argument for its conclusions about his violent end. Salmond's work is informed by an impressive anthropological knowledge, but it reads also as a sensitive exploration of personality and as a compelling adventure narrative. I have read a good many historical treatments of this material, and Salmond's work is among the best.

Average customer rating:

Sex Lives of Cannibals
J Maarten Troost
Manufacturer: BLACK SWAN (TWLD)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Travel | Writing | Reference | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0552771805

Download Description

J. MAARTEN TROOST¿s essays have appeared in the Atlantic Monthly, the Washington Post, and the Prague Post. He spent two years in Kiribati in the Equatorial Pacific and upon his return was hired as a consultant by the World Bank. After several years in Fiji, he recently relocated to the U.S. and now lives with his wife and son in California.

Average customer rating:

A facinating journey of the heart and soul .....
More than a flying book
disappointing
Update on Cannible Queen, the aircraft
Light Introductory Cute Read

The Cannibal Queen
Stephen Coonts
Manufacturer: Pocket
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0671038494

Book Description

Stephen Coonts, New York Times bestselling author of Flight of the Intruder, Under Siege, and Cuba, has been hailed as the best contemporary author writing about flying. In The Cannibal Queen, he turns his storytelling genius to nonfiction with an exultant account of the summer of '91 -- of three glorious months spent exploring America from the cockpit of a 1942 Stearman vintage biplane. Joining the ranks of John Steinbeck and Charles Kuralt, Coonts takes us on an extraordinary adventure, touching down in all forty-eight of the continental United States, from sea to shining sea.

Customer Reviews:

A facinating journey of the heart and soul ............2007-03-05

Some people might consider this a book about flying and nothing more. If so, they will most likely be dissapointed. Cannibal Queen is a story about one man's journey into his heart & soul. It's a story that happens to take place in an airplane; I love flying so please don't misunderstand me if my review isn't more centered on the act of flying.

If you love flying you'll love this book, but if you are equally interested in what the author is like, this is his story. He could have ridden a motorcycle across all 48 states and written the story, and it most likely would have been very similar to this one; just longer.

In Cannibal Queen one is taken along for the ride as if you are acually there. You'll feel his impatience to get back in the air, and flying again. If you've never seen America from the air in an open cockpit airplane, this story might just leave you wanting to find some one who can take you up for a ride .... do it; you won't be left disappointed no matter what the cost is.

As for the heart & soul, Stephen gives a rare glimps into the inner self of the writer in the manner of Richard Bach. This character of the book is quite nice. Here's a guy who puts his pants on one leg at a time just like the rest of us ... he talks about his feeling of returning to Whidbey Island Naval Air Station, and the memories this generates,as well as the emotions too. It's truly a love story of sorts.

In reading it I could transport myself into the story as if it were my story; wondering how I would feel upon returning to the unit location where I flew in the Army, and the memories of those bygone days. Stephen has accomplished this magic in his words.

If you like a well written story of a journey of the heart & soul, then you need to read this book, make sure you have the requisite time for it; if you're like me you won't be able to put it down until you have read it all.

More than a flying book.......2004-08-09

The Cannibal Queen is actually a 1942 Stearman open cockpit biplane and the book of the same name by Stephen Coonts is his story of flying it around the 48 continental United States. It's a great flying book, which is not surprising as Coonts is an ex-Navy fighter jock and the author of four best sellers, including 'Flight of the Intruder.' What got me about the book, however, is a very small sub-plot, namely the author's relationship with his ex-wife and three kids. Right at the start he has a vacation with the ex at DisneyWorld in Florida. Then later he has another get together with the ex in Washington state. Both events are painted as routine when in fact they're more surprising than anything that happens up in the air.

There's also a good dose of denial over his son, David. On the one hand he says 'I have yet to carry a passenger in the Cannibal Queen who is unmoved by the experience.' Well, no. His son was so moved by it he fell asleep in the front cockpit. Like a lot of sons, David finds his father's interests barely tolerable. It's a good book though, you'll like it.

disappointing.......2004-07-22

As a licensed private pilot I have often dreamed of doing just what the author did, i.e. rent a vintage airplane, take a whole summer off and fly around the entire United States. So, when I saw this book I bought it immediately and settled in for a vicarious thrill.
Unfortunaely, the author describes almost no contact with the local people and only passing mention of the scenery he flies over. His mission apperars to be simply to touch down in every State and then fly on to the next airport; mission accomplished. He lands, goes to a nearby restuarant, has a hamburger ("it was good") and flies on.
There are many writers out there who have traveled the USA by motorcycle, car or boat (see William Heat-Moon's "River Horse")and have managed to write a fascinating account of their adventures. This book is very cut and dry and left me wanting more. Maybe someone will take the same trip some summer and write a book worth reading.

Update on Cannible Queen, the aircraft.......2003-05-22

Attended an airshow in Millville, New Jersey on May 11, 2003.
Cannibal Queen, the aircraft, was there, now owned by an outfit that does flying tours around the Philadelphia.

Light Introductory Cute Read.......2001-12-31

I read this book several years ago as the book was on special. It was an enjoyable light read for me as I was curious to find out
a bit about rural america and the flying experience around it. My specific interest was in terms of the actual flying and the
meeting of wonderful people around small american airports and how he paid for his flying. The book was a brief introduction
to the joy and tribulations of buying and flying an open cockpit airplane between small airports across most of america. I
wished he would of discussed a lot more the scenery and the characters he met along the way. I found that certain airports he
just mentions them without delving deeper even though I new that he had to spend a whole day flying just to get to these distant
airports. It will mainly satisfy addicts who want an introductory light read about flying across america. For better or worse, he
wets our appetite and leaves us with a growling stomach.

Book Description

During the spring of 1933, Stalin's police rounded up nearly one hundred thousand people as part of the Soviet regime's "cleansing" of Moscow and Leningrad and deported them to Siberia. Many of the victims were sent to labor camps, but ten thousand of them were dumped in a remote wasteland and left to fend for themselves. Cannibal Island reveals the shocking, grisly truth about their fate.

These people were abandoned on the island of Nazino without food or shelter. Left there to starve and to die, they eventually began to eat each other. Nicolas Werth, a French historian of the Soviet era, reconstructs their gruesome final days using rare archival material from deep inside the Stalinist vaults. Werth skillfully weaves this episode into a broader story about the Soviet frenzy in the 1930s to purge society of all those deemed to be unfit. For Stalin, these undesirables included criminals, opponents of forced collectivization, vagabonds, gypsies, even entire groups in Soviet society such as the "kulaks" and their families. Werth sets his story within the broader social and political context of the period, giving us for the first time a full picture of how Stalin's system of "special villages" worked, how hundreds of thousands of Soviet citizens were moved about the country in wholesale mass transportations, and how this savage bureaucratic machinery functioned on the local, regional, and state levels.

Cannibal Island challenges us to confront unpleasant facts not only about Stalin's punitive social controls and his failed Soviet utopia, but about every generation's capacity for brutality--including our own.

Customer Reviews:

An interesting glimpse into the 'second' Gulag.......2007-08-14

As the author states this was the 'second' so called GULag, where people weren't sent to camps for hard labor but rather deported to various parts of the Soviet Union, such as this section of Siberia, to populate a place not even the Tsars, who tried for 350 years, could. The story in and of itself is quite fascinating and surprising in many respects. The bureaucracy and the obvious Soviet policies are who and what one could easily blame, but those on the bottom also took part in this disaster.

The numbers prepared for deportation were constantly being changed, the monetary funds allocated for these people as well as the horses, tools, and equipment they were to receive their new lives. Always rounding down since those in charge thought if anything extreme occurred those settlers already living there would lend a helping hand. I was surprised by the fact that to oversee this large landmass and its thousands of settlers the OGPU (precursor to the NKVD) had only 44 men, of whom many were clerks and of those clerks many came from the deportees themselves! At least one of their stories is recounted. Militia were also raised to help guard these prisoners and many times these men would let power go to their heads, they didn't want to be here and would beat prisoners and steal their food and/or clothing.

Many of those coming to this Island and other stops along the way were already suffering from the famine that was gripping a large portion of the Soviet Union, their eventual deaths could hardly be prevented. They were arrested usually because they had come to Moscow trying to escape the famine conditions of their homes. The quotas so many hear about when it comes to the Stalinist government are shown here. Aside from criminals, those already in prison, those labeled Kulaks, etc, were people who were simply snatched from train stations who were either passing through Moscow or had just come to Moscow with all their papers and documentation on them. Some Muscovites were snatched off the street because they didn't have their passports on them but had left them at home, no excuses would save them. It's hard to understand how something like that could happen, although it should be mentioned that a few weeks after these people had been deported their stories were checked and many were freed, but they were not yet allowed to return home!

What happens after these people are deported can be seen by the title of the book, there were cases of cannibalism and there emerges the story of a whole violent criminal class that had committed cannibalism in the past, all of this is recounted in the book. Many of those that committed such acts were not starving, which pointed to the fact that they had done this previously. Thus it was also concluded that such acts were not a sign of famine conditions. This book will go to show that the history of the Soviet Union cannot be viewed in black and white terms, there are many variables which need to be understood and these events have to be looked at on a case by case basis. Many of those who died were bullied and killed by the guards or the enormous criminal element they were with. How can one measure out an equal share of the blame to the government for putting them in such a position and to those who did the actual killings? Also interesting is the fact that previous Kulaks who were displaced were not subject to such conditions, they built their settlements and went on with their lives. But these men were used to these conditions and used to living on their own apparently, these elements from the urban centers of Moscow and Leningrad, combined with criminals, could not account for themselves like Kulaks and peasant farmers. An enormous number also tried to run away, while some might have been successful, too many died trying to cross the river Ob while others were undoubtedly lost in the Siberian wilderness. There are accounts of dozens if not hundreds of drowned bodies laying on the shore for kilometers on the opposite river bank of the Island. Just as an example, for the entire year of 1933, 367,457 people 'disappeared', of them 151,601 were recorded as dead and 215,856 as "fugitives". (pg. 181).

It is a fascinating look at a failed project, the inquiry launched into it after the majority of those deported died also shows that the government wouldn't simply stand by, someone had to pay. Those that eventually paid the price were the lower level functionaries, sentenced to various sentences of one to three years in camps. An excellent edition to literature on the "second Gulag" which few know about and an intriguing look into the Soviet Union of the 1930's.

Powerful. Incredible. The holocaust at Cannibal Island........2007-08-13

In the 1930's Stalin decided to liquidate the all kulaks, those peasants who owned at least a bit of property. After having their crops confiscated, peasants starved to death by the millions. Some suffered an even worse fate. They were sent to Siberia's Cannibal island.

Thousands of these people were dumped onto Nanzino island, a small island on the Ob river surrounded by the vast emptiness of Siberia. There was nothing to eat but a few bags of flour. Already, "a very large number of the deportees--at least a third--were so emaciated...they could no longer stand" (p 129).

Nanzino had nothing, no shelter, no other people to help, nothing edible. Nor was any help to come from the communist government. Russia was in turmoil. The vast numbers of starving farmers became roving bands of thieves. By 1930, western Siberia alone boasted some 880 such bands, and those were the ones the government acknowledged.

Nanzino quickly degenerated into Cannibal island. The strong were willing to do anything to survive, even if that meant eating the weak. One guard was courting a pretty young girl. He had to leave for a short time. "People caught the girl, tied her to a tree, cut off her breasts, her muscles, everything they could eat, everything, everything..." (p X1V).

There have been so many movies made from the holocaust of the Jews under the Nazis. I wonder why none have ever been made about the gulag.

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