Books about Animals
Aelian’s On the Nature of Animals
Claudius Aelianus (author), Gregory McNamee (editor)
The legends and innovations of the Roman Empire have been instilled in us since childhood. We know the great stories of legal and political governance, all-knowing gods and goddesses, military power and conquest, and developments in science and engineering. But we have known little, until now, about their knowledge of the animal kingdom—which was, by far, the most advanced in world history, thanks to the encyclopedic...
The Horse That Fell through the Stage: and Other Tales of a Texas Veterinarian
Mason L. Matthews (author)
One evening Mason Matthews got a phone call. As a singer at San Antonio's Alameda Theater was about to mount a horse backstage and ride out in front of the audience, her horse had fallen through the floor. Would Dr. Matthews come over and figure out what to do? This was one of many dilemmas the veterinarian faced during his nearly half-century career. Texas ranchers had emergencies as they began to stock African...
The Jane Effect: Celebrating Jane Goodall
Marc Bekoff (editor), Dale Peterson (editor)
Jane Goodall, who turned eighty on April 3, 2014, is known around the world as a groundbreaking primatologist, the foremost expert on chimpanzees, and a passionate conservationist. In her nearly sixty-year career, Goodall has touched the hearts of millions of people. The Jane Effect is an anthology of testimonies by Goodall’s friends and colleagues honoring her as a scientific pioneer, inspiring teacher, devoted...
Laika's Window: The Legacy of a Soviet Space Dog
Kurt Caswell (author)
Laika began her life as a stray dog on the streets of Moscow and died in 1957 aboard the Soviet satellite Sputnik II. Initially the USSR reported that Laika, the first animal to orbit the earth, had survived in space for seven days, providing valuable data that would make future manned space flight possible. People believed that Laika died a painless death as her oxygen ran out. Only in recent decades has the real...
The Monkey’s Bridge: Mysteries of Evolution in Central America
David Rains Wallace (author)
The Monkey’s Bridge is the story of Central America’s role as an evolutionary link between continents. No place reflects the sweep of evolutionary change more than Central America, where northern and southern organisms mingle in ecosystems ranging from Guatemalan pine-oak forests to Panamanian rain forests. Award-winning writer David Rains Wallace artfully combines vivid travel writing, reflections on the...
Putting on the Dog: The Animal Origins of What We Wear
Melissa Kwasny (author)
In Putting on the Dog, Melissa Kwasny explores the age-old relationship between humans and the animals that have provided us with our clothing: leather, wool, silk, feathers, pearls, and fur. From silkworms grown on plantations in Japan and mink farms off Denmark’s western coast to pearl beds in the Sea of Cortés, Kwasny offers firsthand accounts of traditions and manufacturing methods—aboriginal to modern—and...