Tales featuring anthropomorphic animals have been around as long as there have been storytellers to spin them, from Aesop's Fables to Reynard the Fox to Alice in Wonderland. The genre really took off following the explosion of furry fandom in the 21st century, with talking animals featuring in everything from science fiction to fantasy to LGBTQ coming-out stories. In his lifetime, Fred Patten (1940-2018)-one of the founders of furry fandom and a scholar of anthropomorphic animal literature-authored hundreds of book reviews that comprise a comprehensive critical survey of the genre. This selected compilation provides an overview from 1784 through the 2010s, covering such popular novels as Watership Down and Redwall, along with forgotten gems like The Stray Lamb and Where the Blue Begins, and science fiction works like Sundiver and Decision at Doona.

A collection of 14 stories from the 1940's to the present by such masters of science fiction as Fredric Brown, John Christopher, Poul Anderson, Gordon R. Dickson, and Paul Di Filippo, as well as others. These tales explore the evolution of sentient animal characters in modern fiction through comedy, drama, and suspenseful tales. Here you will find talking cats, elephants, mice, and wolves; experimental subjects, and twisted fairy tales; creatures of science and fantasy, all for your enjoyment.