Bill Schutt is an associate professor at C.W. Post College
of Long Island University and a research associate in Mammalogy at the American
Museum of Natural History in New York whose non-fiction book Dark Banquet: Blood and the Curious Lives of
Blood-Feeding Creatures at first allows him to discuss his main research
subject with is the vampire bat but also allows him to delve into all the other
world’s blood feeding creatures which includes leeches, bugs, and even a bird
that feeds on blood.
An entire book about blood-feeding creatures may not be for
everyone but Schutt keeps the style very user friendly dropping the entire
technical pretense that could have bogged down the information or made it too
informal to enjoy. It is very apparent
that his true expertise is in the vampire bat as his spends more time in the
book with these creatures than any other and he has more personal stories to
tell (which are sometimes very humorous).
What Schutt really wants to do is dispel all the misinformation about
bats and all blood-feeding creatures as there is a lot of information out there
that is incorrect.
He also goes into the historical background of blood-feeding
creatures especially in the chapters on leeches which have had medicinal usage
for centuries. He also delves into the
ecological balance that these creatures have which goes a long way in
explaining to the general populace why we need blood-feeding creatures and why
they are so important and beneficial.
Dark Banquet is an
eye opening book that explains both the negative and positive impact of
blood-feeding creatures that will change your ideas on them while also
dispelling the fears that you may have.
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