Every dog has his day: now he also has his own playful but serious scientific study.
A scientist tracks the evolutionary adaptation of the lone, endangered wolf into man’s ubiquitous best friend.
Budiansky covers science for the Atlantic Monthly, and has treated horses and championed domesticated animals in his five previous books, from The Covenant of the Wild (1992) to If a Lion Could Talk (1998). Here, too, the author defies the environmentalists to insist that the domesticated dog is not merely a degenerate, enslaved form of wild dog. He praises the canine wiles that have allowed our two species to get along so well, even symbiotically: in fact, he warns dog owners from being “owned” by these easily spoiled, manipulative creatures. Humans subjectively misinterpret canine submission (licking feet or smiling) and territorial instinctual displays (barking for intruders) as their dog’s devotion, but the author sees them for what they are—and loves his own dogs nonetheless. Beyond extolling the species’ uncanny abilities (“as olfactory ignoramuses ourselves, we can only begin to appreciate the sagas that reside in canine by-products”), Budiansky concentrates largely on genetics, and quotes many researchers on the physical and behavioral characteristics that persist after wolves and dogs genetically split off some 135,000 years ago. Similarly, Budiansky provides charts and statistics to explain the background, dynamics, and motives behind dog-breeding, and he offers a sometimes harsh portrayal of those who care too passionately about canine pedigrees (“crypto-fascists” is one description he offers). His account combines fun and scientific facts, deflating myth-breaking with practical strategies that enhance the dog-owning experience. With 13 pages of bibliography, this is no pet-store variety walk in the park.
Every dog has his day: now he also has his own playful but serious scientific study.Pub Date: Oct. 2, 2000
ISBN: 0-670-89272-6
Page Count: 254
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2000
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
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