In 1987, when I was working on the first issue of Anthrozoos (the earliest surviving academic journal on human-animal interactions), the publisher and I agreed to carry reviews and brief abstracts of relevant books and scholarly articles appearing in other journals. Back then, this was...
People have been writing epitaphs and memorials to companion dogs for millennia. Perhaps the best-known epitaph to a dog is the one Lord Byron wrote for his Newfoundland, Boatswain. Near this Spot are deposited the Remains of one who possessed Beauty without Vanity, Strength without Insolence, Courage without Ferosity, and all...
In the early days of Anthrozoos, the first academic journal to focus on human-animal interactions, I met many remarkable individuals who agreed to speak at a series of seminars organized by the Tufts Center for Animals and Public Policy. Perhaps the most successful seminar was...
This book is an imaginative analysis of what might happen to the 800 million to one billion dogs in the world if humans suddenly disappeared. Still, there are probably few better scholars to describe and flesh out this imaginary dog’s world. Both authors -- Jessica...
I was immediately attracted to this book because of its title. As a boy, I devoured many of Aesop’s fables and the various folk tales featuring wild animal heroes in Europe, Africa, and the Americas. I am not sure why anthropomorphized animal characters were so...
Congratulations to Peter Li for this comprehensive, well researched book on the history and present-day attitudes and behavior towards animals in China. As a Chinese native living in Europe and, having worked both in grassroots and international non-profit organizations, I have heard so many times...
Asian wild tigers are clinging to existence in relatively few protected areas located mainly in India, Russia, Nepal and Bhutan. The vulnerability of these populations is reflected in the excitement generated by the announcement that the wild tiger population had recently increased from a global...
Underdogs: Pets, People and Poverty (2020) by Arnold Arluke and Andrew Rowan, published by University of Georgia Press, Athens, Georgia, 2020.This book covers the growing movement toward creating affordable veterinary care programs in high-poverty and low-access communities. Its emphasis on the human aspects of such...
Prodigal Pets: A History of Animal Sheltering in America and the Origin of the No Kill Movement (2018) by Susan K. HouserReplacing Myth with Math: Using Evidence-Based Programs to Eradicate Shelter Overpopulation by Peter Marsh, Town and Country Reprographics, Inc.There are very few publications that provide...
In this, the first and only modern full-length biography of Henry Bergh, founder of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, historian Ernest Freeberg offers a thorough, balanced, and human portrait of his subject. Freeberg’s lively treatment puts Bergh’s courage, resilience and...
