Reviews - Savage Harvest: A Tale of Cannibals, Colonialism, and Michael Rockefeller's Tragic Quest for Primitive Art

Well-paced lazy summer read

Perhaps I'm just weird, but this was a relaxing read for the start of my summer break. Well-paced, and with just enough plot twisting to keep you interested without being confusing. My only complaint is that it does seem a bit rushed toward the end. An entire ethnography based on the authors time in Asmat would be very fascinating indeed.

marisacarpico's review against another edition

3.75

adventurous dark informative mysterious fast-paced

Initially found the tone and approach too salacious, but Hoffman eventually uses that to razz both himself and Rockefeller. Interesting if not as fascinating as I'd expected.

skylarkochava's review against another edition

5.0

I had never heard of Michael Rockefeller before I won this book in a giveaway. The story: was a Rockefeller heir eaten by cannibals on a Pacific Island in 1961? A journalist investigates first-hand on the island, including his own adventures and growth along the way, plus the continuing story of those former-cannibals. The book was interesting and kept a great pace. The story itself is so strange and fascinating that I guess it's hard to write a boring book about it! But it was well-written and the author's insights into himself and the society were interesting and thoughtful, with a good helping of self-skepticism about his preconceived notions of "primitive" peoples. It was a great read on something I'd have never known otherwise.

madtattler's review against another edition

4.25

informative medium-paced

cheraford's review against another edition

3.0

Interesting story that not only tries to explain the disappearance of Michael Rockefeller, but also lightly covers the culture of cannabilsm

captperfecthair's review against another edition

3.0

adventurous informative reflective medium-paced

More...