Serpent and the Rainbow

by

371 pages

English language

Published Oct. 9, 1994 by Time Warner International.

ISBN:
978-0-446-34387-9
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4 stars (7 reviews)

The Serpent and the Rainbow: A Harvard Scientist's Astonishing Journey into the Secret Societies of Haitian Voodoo, Zombies, and Magic is a 1985 book by anthropologist and researcher Wade Davis. He investigated Haitian Vodou and the process of making zombies. He studied ethnobotanical poisons, discovering their use in a reported case of a contemporary zombie, Clairvius Narcisse.

6 editions

reviewed The Serpent and the Rainbow by Wade Davis

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5 stars

I loved this book back when I read it in the late 80's! I bought it at Atticus Books in Middletown, Connecticut. I think it was part of a display, but maybe I just found it on the shelf. My mom was getting her Master's in Archaeology and Art History, and of course I'd seen the Indiana Jones movies. so adventurous anthropological field work wasn't totally new to me. This story was so thrilling, though. I guess what I loved was that he continues to relentlessly pursue the truth, even when it is so unpopular. It's been thirty years, so I don't know how I would feel about it now.

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Subjects

  • Davis, Wade.
  • Zombiism -- Haiti.
  • Bizango (Cult)
  • Tetrodotoxin -- Physiological effect.
  • Datura stramonium.
  • Pharmacopoeias -- Haiti.
  • Haiti -- Description and travel.
  • Haiti -- Religious life and customs.
  • Haiti -- Social life and customs.