New York, Simon and Schuster, 1985, 1st edition. 297 pp. A remarkable book that has become a classic of both scientific research, and popular culture. Essential reading for anyone fascinated by the Zombie phenomenon.

 

In April 1982, ethnobotanist Wade Davis arrived in Haiti to investigate two documented cases of zombies -- people who had reappeared in Haitian society years after they had been officially declared dead and had been buried. Drawn into a netherworld of rituals and celebrations, Davis penetrated the vodoun mystique deeply enough to place zombification in its proper context within vodoun culture.

 

In the course of his investigation, Davis came to realize that the story of vodoun is the history of Haiti -- from the African origins of its people to the successful Haitian independence movement, down to the present day, where vodoun culture is, in effect, the government of Haiti's countryside. "The Serpent and the Rainbow" combines anthropological investigation with a remarkable personal adventure to illuminate and finally explain a phenomenon that has long fascinated Americans.

 

Hardcover, Dust Jacket, Near Fint to Fine condition. SIGNED by Wade Davis on the title page. No inscription, just his name.