1 comments about The New Roger Caras Treasury of Great Horse Stories.

1. I recently purchased a copy of "The New Roger Caras Treasury of Great Horse Stories." The book is a good collection of horse fiction, but I was dismayed to find that the book did not include several of the stories that were described in the listing on Amazon.
   
   The description reads as follows:
   
   This new collection contains pieces by John Steinbeck, D. H. Lawrence, Anna Sewell, C. S. Lewis, and many others. Thorne Smith's "A Horse in Bed" tells the hilarious adventures of a man who is granted his wish to become a horse for a day. Dick Francis's "Spring Fever" illuminates the foibles of the English horseracing circuit.
   
   Unfortunately, several stories mentioned in the description, including those by Dick Francis and Thorne Smith, do not appear in the book.

5 comments about Ranch of Dreams: The Heartwarming Story of America's Most Unususal Animal Sanctuary.

1. I generally enjoyed "Ranch of Dreams" - what animal lover couldn't? Heartwarming stories of animal rescues written in a quick and oftentimes witty style.
   
   However, it is that same writing style that occasionally brings Amory from the respectable "pro-animal" into the realm of "anti-human." He becomes argumentative and defensive at times, making me want to argue right back, despite the fact that I agree with him.
   
   Despite this, Amory's book is a worthwhile read, though I would recommend seeking out a cheap used copy and spending the money you save on "Best Friends: The True Story of The World's Most Beloved Animal Sanctuary," another lovely book on saving animals in need.



2. I absolutely loved this book. Although difficult to handle when reading about the abuse of animals, it is so well written that you just can't put it down. Cleveland's sense of humor shows through his writing and makes this book a must-read! And, if you haven't been to the Ranch of Dreams - you must go!!! Black Beauty Ranch in TX is the most beautiful place in the world - and the beauty is so much more than what meets the eye!



3. Cleveland Amory wrote of his beloved cat Polar Bear, "Heaven will be no heaven for me if Polar Bear is not there."

   I say heaven will be no heaven for me if Cleveland Amory is not there. Anyone with even a small soft spot in his heart cannot fail to be moved by the stories of the Black Beauty Ranch and the animals of various species that call it home.

   Someone recently asked me what I'd do if I didn't need to work for a living. I think I'd want to go to Murchison, Texas and help care for the ranch's residents.




4. Having never read anything by Cleveland Amory before I was quite surprised to learn of Black Beauty Ranch in East Texas.Ranch of Dreams opened my eyes to what really goes on behind the circus tents,most haunting and heartwrenching the cruel treatment of the elephants,ripped from their mothers and herds and beaten into submission.Dear Mr Amory;he passed before writing a follow up book. The book is well worth the read,a lesson in human compassion,and when you are finished,pass it on to a friend.



5. I guess I just expected more from this book. I wanted more personal experiences and more discussions of individual animals that had been brought to the ranch. I feel that the book was to "general" in its approach. It just wasn't personal enough.

No comments about Cats Are Smarter Than Jack: 89 amazing true cat stories, connecting animal lovers and helping animals worldwide (Smarter Than Jack).

5 comments about Working Dogs: Tales from Animal Planet's K-9 to 5 World.

1. This book was a wonderful, wonderful publication. It helps to show how canines are working in the world of humans, helping us to become well, to stay safe in the world, etc. This is the kind of story that should make headlines in newspapers, but rarely does. These dogs and the people who help them/handle them/love them SHOULD be spotlighted!

   As for the reviewer who felt that this book added nothing because another book like it was published before, I say that there are NEVER enough books out there like this. I loved reading these stories, just as I did in the other book. I enjoyed watching the stories on Animal Planet, as well. People who appreciate *working* dogs would never be able to get enough of these stories. :)




2. Lots of fun dogs doing lots of interesting things. We liked the bowling dog and the singing dog best.



3. This book is a mediocre (...) book. (There is another book) of the exact same title pulished a year or so ago, "Working Dogs" by C. Owens. I found the original much more entertaining.



4. I was looking for a book for my 5-year old nephew - who is a dog nut - when I stumbled across Working Dogs. After getting it and reading some of the stories to him, I got a second copy for myself. The story and pictures are fabulous and the story of Wheelie Willy brought tears to our eyes.



5. The book just popped out at me and I had to get a copy. Absolutely adorable! It really does make you realize what great hearts and minds dogs have. Great writing and photography too!

1 comments about Winston: The Life of a Gun Dog.

1. This is a great book for anyone interested in bird dogs, especially Brittanys. Most of Mr. Williams books that I have read have been instructional whereas this book is a more personal story about his favorite dog Winston and his performance in the field. It is right up there with "The Rufus Chronicle". I just recently got a Brittany from the American Brittany Rescue and have not hunted him and actually haven't been hunting since I was a little girl with my dad. However, after reading Mr. William's book I have had the urge to get out there and try with my very first dog. This is a must read for Brittany lovers!

5 comments about The Philosopher's Dog: Friendships with Animals.

1. While Raimond Gaita has an engaging enough style of writing, this book was a bit of a disappointment to me. I only got a C+ in Intro to Philosophy in college 40-some years ago, so a lot of his references to Descarte, Wittgenstein and Sorenson were just way over my head. I mean I could sorta follow his reasoning when he went off on these tangents, but I didn't really find it all that interesting, so I skimmed over those parts. And I'm glad I did, because when he did talk about his dogs and other pets, or about other books featuring dogs, I found his text very interesting. Was most pleased to see him cite J.M. Coetzee and his novel, Disgrace, which is a favorite of mine. And when he writes about his father, it gets even more interesting. Wish I could snag a copy of Gaita's memoir about his dad: Romulus, My Father. Unfortunately it seems to be out of print and only available used from Australia. I was made aware of The Philosopher's Dog by a brief reference to Gaita in Ted Kerasote's bestseller, Merle's Door. Although there's some rather tough slogging from the philosopher's end of things here, this is a book worth reading. - Tim Bazzett, author of the ReedCityBoy trilogy



2. I lament not loving this book, because the concept seemed wholly compelling and Mr. Gaita is a fine writer. However, I found the animal sequences slanted toward the sorrowful, and the philosophic essays rambling.
   
   The philosophy, to the book's detriment, dominates the text. I've read Wittgenstein, Buber and Heidegger -- so I'm not unfamiliar with the rigors associated with philosophy. I've read many of the books by the foremost ethologists. I've read many books detailing the tensions and joys of relationships between humans and their non-human companions. By and large, this book has none of the pleasures and illuminations present in almost all of those genre's.
   
   Mr. Gaita's prose is lush and clear during the more elegiac sequences in the book, which is why I'm giving it a 3 out of 5.
   
   The book cover is unfortunate because it gives an impression of tenderness or sentimentality, depending on your point of view, which is not reflected in the book. And perhaps it is literal to say so, but I did not find a single mention of a Terrier. We often buy books because of the tone that a cover implies, and this cover was indeed misleading.
   
   There seemed no fresh insights or even new questions raised in this book. Nor did I feel that it was a book about dogs or friendships with animals. But its worst moments are spent denigrating the work of other writers (and in full disclosure I have never had any association with the writers he mentions).
   
   It's not that the book is without a moment's pleasure, but there are few -- it is that there are so many uninteresting contradictions which cloud its intentions to the point that I couldn't put it down quickly enough, and dreaded picking it back up.



3. I found this book very moving and pleasant to read, but I am talking mostly of the first half. The second half gets really tough if you don't have a solid knowledge of philosophy...but it's certainly a very good and chalenging book. I recommend it!



4. Our book club picked The Philosopher's Dog as our first non-fiction selection. We are all animal lovers, and we had expectations of this book that it just didn't deliver. First, is that the way all philosophers write? No wonder there aren't too many of them around. Gaita did have some gems in the rough - and we did appreciate his insights - but his writing was so scattered that it was very difficult to sift through all the verbosity to get at the core of his thoughts. There is also no reason for a book to have single sentences of 50+, almost 60 words. That also detracted from the good points he was trying to make. Again I say, where was the editor? In addition, we had a problem with his arrogance in assuming that his dog Gypsy, as she's lying on her mat, staring out to sea, simply cannot have "reflective" thought. How does he know? The earth was still round when we poor humans thought it was flat, right? He has to look at his relationships with animals through a human perspective, the only one he has, but it doesn't mean that the jury is in on the limitations of animal thought and behavior. It doesn't mean, necessarily, that the human species is at the top of the intelligence ladder, either. Even though he eschews the use of anecdotes, we would have liked more of them, because his true bond with his animals came through best in the narratives. I think the book topic would have been better served as a tightly written essay. In the end, we did agree with Gaita that the essence of our relationships with animals is unconditional love and respect, feelings that we don't need a philosopher to explain to us. Unfortunately, the best parts of the book (the paperback version) were the cover photo and the back cover summary.



5. I don't have the qualifications Mr Gaita has in the field of philosophy, but if this is scientific philosophy I sincereley doubt its value. Some of the material is interesting, but quite often he puts his own very subjective ideas forward and magnifies them to universal laws of philosophy. He states for example that he knows nobody who would pay as much money in medical bills for a sick dog as he would for a sick child (this makes me wonder if he has ever even tried to communicate to real animal lovers before he wrote this book, or merely draws conclusions based upon his own feelings). Based upon this statement solely he "philosophises" that it is impossible to love an animal the same way as a human and even goes a bit further by stating that there is something wrong with you if you do. I think his feelings for animals are very limited compared to mine and a lot of other people who are in my view psychologically "healthy". I however as a psychologist and would by no means try to draw any universal conclusions based on this subjective finding of mine.

No comments about The Cats of Our Lives: Funny and Heartwarming Remeninscences of Feline Companions (Isis Large Print Nonfiction).

1 comments about Bond For Life.

1. THE BOOK IS EXCELLENT, BUT, IN PAGES 141 AND 143 THEY WROTE COLUMBIA INSTEAD OF COLOMBIA, WHY PEOPLE CONTINUE MAKING THE SAME MISTAKE, THEY SHOULD LOOK IN THE MAP BEFORE THEY WRITE AN ARTICLE

5 comments about Clifford: of Drummond Island.

1. Clifford is a wonderful book for anybody who loves horses. It's also a great read for any animal lover, whether your favorite animal is a dog, cat, bird, or any other four-legged, furry friend. Nancy Bailey is a talented writer who is able to quickly bring the reader into her special world and share her love and connections with her animals. Clifford, the star of the book, is a comical, lovable horse who obviously adores Bailey but also insists on doing things his own way. Bailey isn't afriad to show these quirks and funny mis-adventures and that's what gives the book such a personal, enjoyable touch. Clifford and Trudy, another horse of Bailey's, also have a special connection with the many dogs that share Bailey's attentions. The book is made up of lots of short chapters, each one a new adventure. The horse/dog adventures are interspersed with stories about other animals that have touched Bailey's life. I particularly enjoyed the story about Rookie, the curious chickadee, Joe the Goat, and Frightful the Hawk. After reading this enchanting book, I feel like I know all of Bailey's special animal friends quite well. I highly recommend this book for a fun, memorable read.



2. If you love to read about animals, especially horses, this is the book for you.



3. This book gives us a peak in to the life of a very interesting, talented woman. She actually has time to ride her horse with her dogs running along beside. She has great adventures, thanks to a horse, Clifford, with a spunky personality. I think any animal lover will enjoy this book very much. References to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan are pretty interesting, also.



4. This is a story about a horse that has a mind of his own, another horse who is perfect, and one who isn't so right in the head. Clifford of Drummond Island is a great book. Clifford is a chestnut colored Morgan colt who is raised using "clicker training" a technique used on dogs. With clicker training Clifford learns various tricks including learning how to fetch a cone. Clifford wins the hearts of everyone on Drummond Island, especially Mrs. Bailey's dad. This a great book for horse lovers and non-horse lovers alike!



5. Nancy Bailey has written a wonderful book, for animal-lovers of all ages, about Clifford, her Morgan horse with TOO much personality. Her evocative and descriptive prose takes the reader on a journey to Drummond Island, Michigan, and encounters with family members, islanders, birds, dogs, "fudgies," and of course Clifford himself. By the end of the book, I felt that I had known all of the characters myself!

2 comments about Peepers the Talking Starling.

1. While I can appreciate the authors' love for this bird, I have to say their book is a real mess. Hardly a page goes by without one or more, and often SEVERAL, glaring spelling, grammar, or punctuation errors. And I'm talking HUGE errors, like something you would see in an essay written by a ten-year-old. It's not just nit-picky of me -- I truly can't enjoy reading the written word when I am constantly having to come out of the story, mentally, and think "wow, another thing the editor missed."
   
   From a story-telling standpoint, I feel the book falters as well. The authors discuss their life with Peepers only briefly. The balance of the book contains letters they received after Peepers' passing (most of which letters recounted the same exact memories, such that it was highly repetitive) as well as a bizarre "fable" penned by the author. This fable was marred by the repeated reference to a line from the nursery rhyme "Sing a Song of Sixpence". The author mangles the reference, repeatedly and mistakenly quoting the rhyme as "ten and twenty blackbirds" when of course it is, famously, "four and twenty blackbirds".
   
   Look, I would not be this harsh if this were not a genre of which I am extremely fond. I have a Listmania list all about books like this. But I just can't let it go unmentioned that this book, for twelve bucks, has seen not one minute of editing or researching and does not provide its reader with even a passable reading experience. You don't get a book; you get a very rough draft.
   
   Plus, for whatever unfathomable reason, the typeface is in something like 24pt. I suppose had it been a normal size, the book would have come in at something like 30 pages and hardly marketable.
   
   My two cents.



2. This is a wonderful book to buy if you are a bird lover. If you never knew that Starlings have the incredible ability to talk and mimic, you will be in for a real treat! We love our animal friends to be like people, and Peepers was indeed a amazing little soul. You'll love this little book!