Although the animal may be, as Nietzsche argued, ahistorical, living completely in the present, it nonetheless plays a crucial role in human history. The fascination with animals that leads not only to a desire to observe and even live alongside them, but to capture or kill them, is found in all civilizations. The essays collected in "Beastly Natures" show how animals have been brought into human culture, literally helping to build our societies (as domesticated animals have done) or contributing, often in problematic ways, to our concept of the wild.

The book begins with a group of essays that approach the historical relevance of human-animal relations seen from the perspectives of various disciplines and suggest ways in which animals might be brought into formal studies of history. Differences in species and location can greatly affect the shape of human-animal interaction, and so the essays that follow address a wide spectrum of topics, including the demanding fate of the working horse, the complex image of the American alligator (at turns a dangerous predator and a tourist attraction), the zoo gardens of Victorian England, the iconography of the rhinoceros and the preference it reveals in society for myth over science, relations between humans and wolves in Europe, and what we can learn from society's enthusiasm for "political" animals, such as the pets of the American presidents and the Soviet Union's "space dogs." Taken together, these essays suggest new ways of looking not only at animals but at human history.

Contributors

Mark V. Barrow Jr., Virginia Tech * Peter Edwards, Roehampton University * Kelly Enright, Rutgers University * Oliver Hochadel, Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona * Uwe Lubken, Rachel Carson Center, Munich * Garry Marvin, Roehampton University * Clay McShane, Northeastern University * Amy Nelson, Virginia Tech * Susan Pearson, Northwestern University * Helena Pycior, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee * Harriet Ritvo, Massachusetts Institute of Technology * Nigel Rothfels, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee * Joel A. Tarr, Carnegie Mellon University * Mary Weismantel, Northwestern University

Falcon Field Guides are full-color, visually appealing, easily packable guides for identifying animals and learning about nature.

Jacquelin Smith is an internationally known animal communicator and psychic who lives in Columbus, Ohio. She is a pioneer in the field of telepathic communication with animals. Jacquelin has been communicating with animals and has worked as a psychic with people professionally for more than thirty years.Since 1972 she s been actively involved in studying animal life and behavior, and teaching workshops. After receiving a B.A., Jacquelin worked as an animal technician and dog trainer, while studying psychology. She is also a board-certified hypnotherapist which has deepened her communication skills with people and animals. She has studied shamanic work for over fifteen years.Jacquelin has communicated with animals in zoological parks and in the wild during her travels in Africa and South America. She has communicated with cats, dogs, horses, dolphins, bats, birds, bears, chimps, rabbits and many other species.She combines telepathic communication with traditional and holistic methods and offers practical ways to resolve a wide variety of issues with animals. Jacquelin has been tracking lost animals for over twenty years with great results.Jacquelin has been communicating with animals, star beings, and interdimensional beings since early childhood. She has taught workshops on animal communication in various cities throughout the United States. Also, Jacquelin has taught workshops on communicating with star beings.She offers apprenticeship programs to people who want to learn how to communicate with animals and with star beings. Her book, Animal Communication Our Sacred Connection, is one of the most comprehensive books on animal communication and animals.Jacquelin s work continues to receive media coverage through radio interviews and television talk shows.For information about private consultations, workshops, apprenticeship programs, DVDs, books, and more visit Jacquelin s website www.jacquelinsmith.com. You can email her at [email protected].

Jim wakes up one morning, looks in the mirror and cannot see himself. Being invisible will give him the chance to do some of the things he always dreamed of. Helping god to rid the planet of some of its most despicable inhabitants. Criminals who peddle drugs, to society, but especially to children. Despot leaders who use the country's wealth as their private bank, and live extravagantly, while their people die from starvation, Evil people who profit from the misery of victims kidnapped and sold into slavery or prostitution. This is his chance to take a little of the vast wealth in the world for himself and to improve the lives of his family. My name is Ron Haslam (not the famous motor cyclist) we only bear the same name. I spent two years in Australia, twenty eight in South Africa and forty four in England. I currently live in England. Since retiring, I have written nine children's bedtime story books, my life story 'Jam Tomorrer', and a love story 'The Pure Magic of True Love'. My email address is [email protected]

As one of the world's largest and most social deer species, elk are of immense interest to wildlife enthusiasts. Their 500-800-pound tawny bodies, sweeping antlers, and fascinating behaviors draw millions to seek them in national parks and other public lands. So valued are elk for viewing, sport, and table fare, that over the past twenty-five years elk were transplanted from the West to five Eastern states and Ontario, Canada. These reintroductions helped restore a treasured animal that as recently as two centuries ago roamed from Atlantic to Pacific coasts and Alaska to Mexico."" "Where Elk Roam" provides an inside look at the field studies and conservation work of a federal wildlife scientist who for twenty-two years served as the National Elk Refuge's wildlife biologist, coordinating winter feeding of 8,000 elk and tracking their births, deaths, and annual migrations throughout the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. It brings to life the joys and rewards of working with elk and other magnificent species--including wolves, bears, and mountain lions--and it entertains and educates while also moving readers toward active participation in conservation.

A Walk on the Wild Side charts the authors journey from Hampshire to the Scottish Highlands and eventually to one of the largest districts in Scotland and the least densely populated area of the British Isles. The book tells the stories surrounding the wildlife encountered in and around his home and throughout the beautiful and remote area of Sutherland in the northern Highlands of Scotland. Discover its unique landscape containing every conceivable habitat and the associated wildlife that abounds within. From the estuaries and mixed woodland along the narrow eastern seaboard to the wild and rugged interior of mountain and moor. From the secret coves and stunning sea cliffs of the north to Handa Island off the west coast with its sea stacks full of nesting birds and marauding skuas patrolling the skies above the hill lochans. Each chapter captures these diverse habitats and the birds, mammals and wild flowers that live within their confines. The magnificent golden eagle, the spectacular osprey, the haunting red and black throated divers, the secretive pine marten and otter - all of these are brought to life through the exploits of one man and his intimate knowledge of the area.

Written with the non-specialist in mind, this guide is a must-have for flower lovers, hikers, tour guides and tourists – anyone interested in identifying the wild flowers that grace the Cape Peninsula.

Wild Flowers of the Cape Peninsula covers the most remarkable and commonly seen wild flowers of Table Mountain, Silvermine and Cape Point. The book was originally published as Common Wild Flowers of Table Mountain in 2007, then revised in 2013 to include the flowers of Silvermine.

This new edition offers:

• 360 (previously 208) of the region’s most remarkable and commonly seen wild flowers
• Clear photographs of all featured flowers and concise, informative text
• Flowers grouped according to colour, to help with quick ID
• Walking routes in the Peninsula’s famed reserves, plotted on 3 clear maps
• Illustrated glossary of terms

This is a book of true stories about birds and animals that my family and I have fostered or adopted over the years. We enjoyed these tempporary, and sometimes permanent, members of our family. All of the birds and animals had distinct personallities. Some were bossy and some were very easy to have as companions. A lot like people. We learned that there is a "something" that runs all through living beings, be they human, animal or fowl.We have been the foster parets, or adoptive parents, to blue jays, cardinals, piegeons, African gray geese, ducks, a Guinea pig, swamp rabbits, a mockingbird, gray foxes and assorted other birds and animals that have hopped, flown and walked through our life, including a cat that hunted with predator tapes.

"A very well-written and informative book. Written in a way that the average person can understand and utilize in a practical manner."

-Marianne L. Rousseau...Cedarbay Labs

"Tom Dwyer has done it again. Once again he has written an informative book which has something for everyone from the novice breeder to the very experienced. This hands-on book is a must read for anyone breeding dogs."

-Pat Russell...Birdland GSP's

"Magnificent . . . A joyful, hopeful book. Safina gives us ample reasons to be enthralled by this astonishing ancient animal--and ample reasons to care.""--Los Angeles Times" As Carl Safina's compelling natural history adventure makes clear, the fate of the leatherback turtle is in our hands. The distressing decline of these ancient sea turtles in Pacific waters and their surprising recovery in the Atlantic illuminate the results--both positive and negative--of our interventions and the lessons that can be applied, globally, to restore the oceans and their creatures.
We accompany award-winning natural history expert Safina and his colleagues as they track leatherbacks across the world's oceans and onto remote beaches of every continent, including a thrilling journey from Monterey, California, to nesting grounds in Papua, New Guinea. Throughout, in his peerless prose, Safina captures the delicate interaction between these gentle giants and the humans who are playing a significant role in their survival.

Discover the story of the land of Myakka. This book takes you into shady hammocks of twisted oaks and up into aerial gardens, down the wild and scenic river, and across a variegated canvas of prairies, piney woods, and wetlandsall located in Myakka River State Park, the largest state park in Florida. Each adventure tells the story of a unique facet of this wilderness area and takes you into secret places it would take years to discover on your own.

Whether you're visiting the park for the first time or have frequented the area since childhood, the adventures described here are sure to awaken your primitive instincts to explore the unknown. If you return to the same places at different times of the year, you'll find enough adventures to last a lifetime. You'll never be one of those people who ask "What's there to do in the park today?"