Cannibalism is unquestionably one of the oldest and deepest-seated
taboos. Even in an age when almost nothing is sacred, religious, moral
and social prohibitions surround the topic. But even as our minds recoil
at the mention of actual acts of cannibalism there is some dark
fascination with the subject. Appalling crimes of humans eating other
humans are blown into major news stories and gory movies: both
Hitchcock's Psycho and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre were based on the
crimes of Ed Gein, who is profiled, along with others, in this book. In
Eat Thy Neighbour the authors put the subject of cannibalism into its
social and historical perspective.