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Our society is still learning how to dignify the relationship
between a pet and their human with proper mourning rituals. We have
only recently allowed the conversation of how to grieve for our
non-human family members to come front and centre. In examining the
special bond between pets and their people, Jeffrey Moussaieff
Masson validates the grief that we feel when a special pet dies.
Lost Companions is full of poignant stories about dogs, cats,
horses, birds, wombats and other animals that beautifully
illustrate the strong bond humans form with them. A heartfelt
exploration of human grief after the loss of a pet by the New York
Times bestselling author of Dogs Never Lie About Love, Lost
Companions is a thought-provoking book on pet loss. Masson takes a
personal approach, allowing readers to explore their own responses,
suggesting ways through and out of grief, as well as meaningful
ways to memorialize our best friends.
In "The Dog Who Couldn't Stop Loving", Masson considers the
far-reaching consequences of the coevolution of dogs and humans,
drawing upon recent scientific research. Over the past forty
thousand years a collective domestication has occurred that brings
us to where we are today - humans have formed intense bonds with
dogs, and the adoration is almost always reciprocal. Masson himself
has experienced a profound bond with his new dog, Benjy, a failed
guide dog for the blind, who possesses an abundance of uninhibited
love. Masson knows that the love he feels for Benjy - the same
feeling Benjy has for all the people and animals around him - is
not unique, but exemplifies a love affair unmatched in the animal
world. With wisdom, insight, and a brilliant analysis of recent
scientific findings, bestselling author Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson
delivers a provocative and compelling book that will change the way
we think about love and our canine companions.
The bestselling author of "When Elephants Weep" explores humans'
relationship with the animals they call food. Masson investigates
how denial keeps people from recognizing the animal at the end of
their fork as well as each culture's distinctions among animals
considered food and those that are forbidden.
“The boastful, unstable Toad, the hospitable Water Rat, the shy,
wise, childlike Badger, and the Mole with his pleasant habit of
brave boyish impulse,” noted "Vanity Fair" nearly a century ago, “
are types of that deeper humanity which sways us all.” Written by
Kenneth Grahame as bedtime stories for his son, "The Wind in the
Willows" continues to delight readers today.
Basing his fanciful animal characters on human archetypes, Grahame
imparts a gentle, playful wisdom in his timeless tales. Few readers
will be able to resist an invitation to join the Wild Wooders at
Toad Hall, enjoy a quick splash in the river with Rat and Badger,
or take a swerving ride with Toad in a “borrowed” motor-car. This
Modern Library Paperback Classic is set from the first illustrated
American edition of 1913.
Kept in a dungeon for his entire childhood, Kaspar Hauser appeared
in Nuremberg, Germany, in 1828 at age sixteen, barely able to walk
or talk. When he was killed in 1833, his true identity and the
motives for his unsolved murder became the subjects of intense
speculation. This provocative essay sheds new light on this mystery
and delves into fundamental questions about the long-term effects
of child abuse.
Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson's groundbreaking bestseller, "When
Elephants Weep," was the first book since Darwin's time to explore
emotions in the animal kingdom, particularly from animals in the
wild. Now, he focuses exclusively on the contained world of the
farm animal, revealing startling, irrefutable evidence that
barnyard creatures have feelings too, even consciousness.
Weaving history, literature, anecdotes, scientific studies, and
Masson's own vivid experiences observing pigs, cows, sheep, goats,
and chickens over the course of five years, this important book at
last gives voice, meaning, and dignity to these gentle beasts that
are bred to be milked, shorn, butchered, and eaten. Can we ever
know what makes an animal happy? Many animal behaviorists say no.
But Jeffrey Masson has a different view: An animal is happy if it
can live according to its own nature. Farm animals suffer greatly
in this regard. Chickens, for instance, like to perch in trees at
night, to avoid predators and to nestle with friends. The obvious
conclusion: They cannot be happy when confined twenty to a cage.
From field and barn, to pen and coop, Masson bears witness to the
emotions and intelligence of these remarkable farm animals, each
unique with distinct qualities. Curious, intelligent,
self-reliant-many will find it hard to believe that these
attributes describe a pig. In fact, there is much that humans share
with pigs. They dream, know their names, and can see colors. Mother
cows mourn the loss of their calves when their babies are taken
away to slaughter. Given a choice between food that is nutritious
or lacking in minerals, sheep will select the former, balancing
their diet and correcting the deficiency. Goats display quite a
sense of humor, dignity, and fearlessness (Indian goats have been
known to kill leopards). Chickens are naturally sociable-they will
gather around a human companion and stand there serenely preening
themselves or sit quietly on the ground beside someone they trust.
For far too long farm animals have been denigrated and treated
merely as creatures of instinct rather than as sentient beings.
Shattering the abhorrent myth of the "dumb animal without
feelings," Jeffrey Masson has written a revolutionary book that is
sure to stir "human" emotions far and wide.
"From the Hardcover edition."
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