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A review by swoody788
Savage Harvest: A Tale of Cannibals, Colonialism, and Michael Rockefeller's Tragic Quest for Primitive Art by Carl Hoffman
3.0
I first heard about this story from a Smithsonian article I read about two years ago. Before this, I had never heard of Michael Rockefeller or his demise and my knowledge of headhunters was limited to The Far Side.
Hoffman surprised me by describing Michael's grisly end (which was absolutely sickening and made me lose my appetite for the rest of the day and want to give up the book for good - suddenly these cartoons weren't so funny anymore) in the first few pages; I thought for sure that would be the climax of his tale. But once we got that out of the way I was glad I decided to press on and was rewarded with fascinating information about such an exotic culture that is the Asmat of West Papua. By no means did Hoffman condone the ritualistic killings and cannibalism that these people used to do regularly, but he painted an important lesson that cultures and their practices that are so different from our own should be respected and understood before they are tread upon.
It was apparent that Hoffman really tried to leave no stone uncovered, and his conclusions seemed entirely logical, but he can't claim with 100% assurance that this is the truth. I believe it though. He was a bit repetitive and that was annoying, but the last few chapters of his experience living with the Asmat were powerful. Thoughtful read, but definitely not for the faint of heart.
Hoffman surprised me by describing Michael's grisly end (which was absolutely sickening and made me lose my appetite for the rest of the day and want to give up the book for good - suddenly these cartoons weren't so funny anymore) in the first few pages; I thought for sure that would be the climax of his tale. But once we got that out of the way I was glad I decided to press on and was rewarded with fascinating information about such an exotic culture that is the Asmat of West Papua. By no means did Hoffman condone the ritualistic killings and cannibalism that these people used to do regularly, but he painted an important lesson that cultures and their practices that are so different from our own should be respected and understood before they are tread upon.
It was apparent that Hoffman really tried to leave no stone uncovered, and his conclusions seemed entirely logical, but he can't claim with 100% assurance that this is the truth. I believe it though. He was a bit repetitive and that was annoying, but the last few chapters of his experience living with the Asmat were powerful. Thoughtful read, but definitely not for the faint of heart.