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Summary: Goes far beyond most scientific journeys
Review: This is a wonderfully different kind of science book. The first half of the book, although quite absorbing, is cliche. Davis travels to Haiti in search of the secret recipe for making a zombi. He runs into strange characters, some moderate danger, and moderate suspense. Although he is successful in this search, he discovers something much more profound in the process, and this is where the book takes an unexpected twist. Davis finds that his western view of the zombi recipe is barely complete without taking into account the Hatian's religion, government, history, and culture. In doing so, he also makes the reader question the reality of everything around them, and may very well change the way that you experience life.
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Summary: To the 'frontier of death'
Review: Wade Davis, anthropologist (Harvard 1977), was working as a graduate assistant for his mentor Professor Richard Schultes in 1982, when his life took a turn for the bizarre. At the recommendation of Schultes he met with two equally esteemed academic gentlemen - Dr Nathan Kline and Professor Heinz Lehman, former heads of departments in psychiatry and psychopharmacology (study of the action of drugs on the mind). They had a proposal for him. "Let me relieve you of any further suspense, Mr Davis. We understand from Professor Schultes that you are attracted to unusual places. We propose to send you to the frontier of death. If what we are about to tell you is true, as we believe it is, it means that there are men and women dwelling in the conscious present, where the past is dead and the future consists of fear and impossible desires". How's that for an icebreaker! The frontier of death was in Haiti, in the underground world of Voodoo, peopled with bodies without character or will; the living dead; Zombies! That Davis stuck around to hear them out shows that he was an adventurous explorer, that he agreed to go only shows that he had no idea of what he was getting into. What the Professors wanted Davis to investigate was the formula of the natural drug that was used to induce Zombification. The rationale was put this way "If we could find a new drug which made the patient utterly insensible to pain and paralyzed and another which harmlessly returned him to normal consciousness it could revolutionize modern surgery".Thus was born the 'Zombie Project', a serious, scientific, well funded exploration and study to find the chemical explanation underpinning the whole concept of Zombies, and the subject of this book. It also explores the culture, history and politics of Haiti and we learn about the science of poisons. In contrast to the movie of the same name, Davis in real life did not get powdered poison blown in his face, nor was he buried in a coffin. A poison was found and a substance was identified that was capable of producing the state of suspended animation characteristic of Zombies, but more fundamental to his project was the fact that he never witnessed a Zombie being brought up from the grave. Startling by it's admission is this statement from Davis. "I had, in fact, been offered two promising opportunities to do so, provided, of course, that the cash payment...be sufficient". He refused the opportunity, partly because if it turned out to be a fraud he would have wasted the money but also because of the following chilling reason. "If, on the other hand, it turned out to be legitimate, I would have no way of being certain that the money had not been responsible for the victim's fate." No statement goes further in showing the complete conversion of Davis from the deep skeptic he was when he first arrived in Haiti, to a confirmed believer in the power of Voodoo and it's importance to the culture. Although the subject matter is almost beyond belief, this well written and balanced account handles the subject with ease. No doubt about it - a classic case of truth being stranger than fiction. The glossary of Voodoo terms at the back helps. Well worth a read.
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Summary: A serious, scientific look at zombies
Review: Written by an ethnobotanist (a combination of a botanist and an anthropologist), this book focuses on Haiti, the secret societies within Haiti, and of course, the psychological and scientific means of making a zombie. No, Wade Davis doesn't come out and say, to make a zombie, do this, this, and this. Instead, he uses reason and logic to track down the actual processes, both social and psychological, that lead to the Haitian people's tendency to believe in them. As it's written by a scientist, the focus on Haiti's past and culture should be more expected than a flat out 'Indiana Jones goes to the tropics'. For those who've seen the movie: no, he doesn't get zombie poison blown in his face. No, he doesn't get buried alive. No, he doesn't get harassed by a corrupt police chief who cuts off peoples' heads. It's pretty down to earth. For those really interested in Haitian culture and, to some extent, voodoo, this is a perfect book to read. If you want adventure, rent the movie.
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