Cat traces the relationship between humans and the cat from its original domestication in ancient Egypt c. 2000 BC, through the centuries as a utilitarian rodent catcher, its gradual acceptance as a charming and amiable pet, and its present status as a companion on a par with the dog. Long before people valued cats, however, they recognized something special about them. Their graceful, fluid movements, and their self-detachment even as they live in our homes, seems to indicate strange, even supernatural powers. The peculiar fascination of the cat, indeed, is the diversity of images it projects - at once sweet and ferocious, affectionate and independent, elegant and earthy, cosily domestic and eerie. This highly illustrated book, now available in B-format, has a great deal to offer the enormous number of people who like and are interested in cats. Unlike many other cat books, it offers substantial and accurate information about the history of cats and their presentation in literature and art.

L. Frank Baum (1856-1919), author of "The Wizard of Oz" and thirteen more Oz books, created many other appealing fantasies for children. Writing under the pseudonym of Laura Bancroft, Baum related the adventures of Twinkle in these stories for small children that, like the Oz books, have something to say to adults as well. Growing up in the village of Edgeley on the North Dakota prairie, Twinkle is an inquisitive little farm girl who is constantly swept away into the worlds of enchantment surrounding her. She and her friend Chubbins are miniaturized by a prairie dog magician and discover the secret life of a prairie dog town. Twinkle falls asleep by a woodchuck hole and suddenly finds herself the prisoner of a well-dressed, very bourgeois Mr. Woodchuck. In another tale, Twinkle's murderous crow pays a dear price for his actions. Climbing Sugar Loaf Mountain in the Ozarks, Twinkle and Chubbins enter a world of sugar people, whose society mirrors that of humans in some unsettling ways. In "Policeman Bluejay," the children are transformed into larks by the hideous tuxix, are befriended by Policeman Bluejay, and enter a world of birds that casts disturbing light on the world of humans. Originally, all of these stories were published separately. Baum wanted them to be reissued in a single volume, as they are here for the first time.

"The Cat and the Human Imagination" is a fascinating historical survey of the changing cultural attitudes towards cats and the myriad ways that they have been depicted in literature and art. Feline images have permeated civilization since the time of the ancient Egyptians, and during this time the status of the cat has changed dramatically. The book examines the changing images-- fertility goddess, sly little predator, agent of Satan, avenging witness, aristocrat, friend, spirit of the home, bloodthirsty killer, seductive female--and relates them to the contexts in which they arose. It also analyzes how human attitudes towards cats seem to have evolved in parallel with attitudes towards animals, towards authority, and towards gender.
Western literature and visual art have reflected this change, developing from bare sketches to richly varied expressions of feline personality and human interaction with cats. Katharine M. Rogers seeks out the cats who make appearances in an impressive range of literary and artistic works, providing the first critical look at the symbolic functioning of cat characters in Poe's "The Black Cat," Dickens's "Bleak House," and Zola's "Therese Raquin," among other literary works. The historical and artistic range covered is impressive, creating a rich compendium that is the ideal book for the cat lover seeking a refreshingly substantial and scholarly work about this fascinating animal.
"This book is a classic-- something every cat-loving intellectual will have to own. (No one, of course, ever really owns a cat--but everyone should own this book.) It's the kind of book you want to quote from at the vet's, or cocktail parties, or whenever you get the urge toconvert a dog lover to the true faith." --Emily Toth, Louisiana State University
Katharine M. Rogers is Professor Emerita of English, City University of New York. Her previous books include "Feminism in Eighteenth-Century England" and "Frances Burney: The World of "Female Difficulties.""