THE DEADLY FEAST OF LIFE

by Donald E. Carr ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 1971

Carr has investigated the feeding habits of the animal kingdom from the lowest organisms to man: he comes up with a good deal of graphic lore, but within his broad categories (like ""reptiles"") there is no systematic elaboration of prey, capture strategy, digestive peculiarities. One gleans tidbits concerning the villainy of sporozoans, the workings of the gizzard, the utility of monkeys' color sense, the way venom compensates snakes for their lack of paws or claws; there are references to the adverse side-effects of exterminating a pest which had served to control worse pests, but no overall conception of balance or pecking orders. Furthermore, though he is good at elaborating the chemistry involved in these processes, the points Carr does make are too often underdeveloped or insufficiently explained: snake tongues are ""complex, versatile, and poorly understood,"" but Cart doesn't provide a hint toward understanding them; rats' food intake is ""controlled by a blood factor,"" but what is it and so what; the new miracle grains are lower in protein, but Carr doesn't relate this fact to their growth span or anything else. The fascinating question of the relation between diet and longevity, as in turtles and carp, is never raised. When it comes to human beings, Carr announces that he finds biology and zoology far more helpful than sociology or political science. He includes a chapter on malnutrition in the U.S. which fails to take the problem seriously: Carr suggests raising camels, advises us not to worry about artificial sweeteners since sucrose is so harmful anyway, and never bothers to discuss additives in white bread and doctored meat. Certainly a disappointment for the ecologically-minded, this seems best suited for browsers and fanciers who won't mind Carr's habitual digressions. Carr's earlier books include The Sexes (1970), The Eternal Return (1968), Death of the Sweet Water (1966), and The Breath of Life (1965).

Pub Date: March 1, 1971

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Doubleday

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1971

Categories: NONFICTION