Traces the anthropological and ethnological theories of the ancient Greeks and Romans from the creation of the world to the invention of the Americas. In ancient Greek and Roman thinking, whether the world is flat or spherical it will have imaginary boundaries and liminal areas where the norms of nature and culture are thought to break down. Analogies are constantly drawn between 'primitive' peoples at the 'edges of the world' and 'primitive' people in prehistory. Distance, both in time and space, leads to difference, and the idea that strange things happen out there or happened back then dominates Greek and Roman thinking on other cultures. This book examines ancient ideas of the creation of the world, the beginnings of life and origin of species, humans and animals, utopias and blessed islands, and 'barbarian' cultures beyond the Mediterranean world, before going on to trace the influence of ancient anthropological and ethnological thought on the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. We begin with primordial chaos and end with the invention of the Americas, taking in on the way many strange creatures, among them the noble or ignoble savages of Britain, Gaul and Ireland, the Man-faced Ox-creatures of Empedocles, the Dog-heads of India, the Amazons, Centaurs, Columbus, and the Tupinamba of Brazil.

The Oxford Handbook of Animals in Classical Thought and Life is the first comprehensive guide to animals in the ancient world, encompassing all aspects of the topic by featuring authoritative chapters on 33 topics by leading scholars in their fields. As well as an introduction to, and a survey of, each topic, it provides guidance on further reading for those who wish to study a particular area in greater depth. Both the realities and the more theoretical aspects of the treatment of animals in ancient times are covered in chapters which explore the domestication of animals, animal husbandry, animals as pets, Aesop's Fables, and animals in classical art and comedy, all of which closely examine the nature of human-animal interaction. More abstract and philosophical topics are also addressed, including animal communication, early ideas on the origin of species, and philosophical vegetarianism and the notion of animal rights.

This title focus on the southern hemisphere using African examples. Ornithology for Africa has been specially written for users on the southern side of the equator and puts Africa in the lead in this regard. It is based on a series of lectures on the biology of birds, which the author has presented over the years to adult audiences throughout southern Africa. The text is aimed at the informed layperson as well as at the senior undergraduate student. The style allows the lay reader not only to learn about birds, but to enjoy ornithology as a pastime or even as a more serious occupation. The nine chapters cover the origin of birds, flight, feeding adaptations, zoogeography, ecology, migration, behaviour and breeding biology.

Robert Ogilvie Crombie is probably best known as one of the seminal figures in the history of the Findhorn Foundation community in northern Scotland. He was the elderly Scottish gentleman who spoke with nature spirits. But there was much more to this man's life and work than just his association with Findhorn. As a scientist, hermetic magician, and a researcher of the psychic realms, he was in many ways a key figure in the history of esotericism in the twentieth century. His story is less-well known than it could be simply because he worked in solitude and privacy. He did not write books and did not take students or attempt to found a group or an esoteric school. When he shared some of his inner work with the world at large, he did so through the lens of the Findhorn community. In so doing, he exerted a powerful influence on the imagination and spiritual work of thousands of people around the globe, particularly in how they view humanity's relationship and responsibility to the natural world. For anyone interested in the history of Findhorn, the Western occult and magical traditions, or the life of a working adept, this book is a must-read.