Discussed in this essay:

Severed: A History of Heads Lost and Found, by Frances Larson. Liveright. 384 pages. $27.95.

Jivaro is the name of a professional headhunting firm with offices in four American cities. The company’s website boasts of finding individuals with the “expertise, knowledge and drive needed to help take your company to the next level.” Its logo features a stylized red warrior striding along with his spear hoisted for the kill.

The term “headhunting” is now synonymous with executive searches, but few of Jivaro’s clients, I would wager, have read F. W. Up De…