BOOKS: Sterling references

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, March 1994:

The Reptile and Amphibian Keeper’s
Dictionary, by David C. Wareham. 1993. 193 pages,
hardcover, $24.95 ($34.95 in Canada).
Dolphins & Porpoises: A World-wide
Guide, by Jean-Pierre Sylvestre. 1994. 160 pages,
hardcover, $19.95 ($25.95 in Canada).
The Greenpeace Book of Coral Reefs, by
Susan Wells & Nick Hanna. 1992, 160 pages, hard-
cover, $35.00.
All from Sterling Publishing Co. (387 Park
Ave. South, New York, NY 10016-8810).

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BOOKS FOR THE MEATOUT

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, March 1994:

Meat: A Natural Symbol. By Nick Fiddes,
Routledge Inc. (29 West 35th St, New York NY
10001), 1991, 261 pages, paperback, $15.95. ISBN
0-415-08929-8.
Former caterer Nick Fiddes, now a social
anthropologist, has had lots of experience with social
responses to food. He has found meat especially rich in
social significance. Like many other writers, he recog-
nizes its potential as a symbol of social, economic and
sexual dominance. But most of all, he believes, meat
subconsciously represents the human conquest of nature.

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BOOKS: Humane Innovations And Alternatives & Between the Species

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, Jan/Feb 1994:

Humane Innovations And Alternatives,
Volume Seven, published by Psychologists for the
Ethical Treatment of Animals (Box 1297, Washington
Grove, MD 20880-1297.) 547 pages, paperback, $20.
Between The Species, Volume 9, #2, published
by the Schweitzer Center of the San Francisco Bay
Institute/Congress of Culture (POB 254, Berkeley, CA
94701.) 120 pages, paperback, $5.00.
Some day soon, Humane Innovations And
Alternatives must decide whether it wants to be a serious
journal or the Gong Show of animal protection literature.
The 14-member editorial board includes plenty of doctor-
ates from a variety of disciplines, and plenty of worthwhile
material appears in this thick annual, as well, but scientific
probes of fine points in toxicology appear alongside infor-
mal essays on “How I run my animal shelter,” and “The
most unforgetable chicken I ever met.” Even if every item
genuinely deserves print somewhere, few researchers will
ever find the scientific articles, while most of the audience
for shelter how-to and unforgetable chicken stories isn’t like-
ly to be drawn to a publication that calls itself a journal.

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LEFTY DUCKS AND CHICKENS OF THE WORLD UNITE!

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, Jan/Feb 1994:

Lefty’s Place, by Lewis G. Nierman. Kindness
Publications (1859 N. Pine Island Rd., #135, Plantation,
FL 33322), 1993. 32 pages, hardcover, $18.95.
Nature’s Chicken, by Dr. Nigel Burroughs.
Distributed by United Poultry Concerns (POB 59367,
Potomac, MD 20859). 36 pages, paperback, $5.95.
Neither battery-caged chickens nor the feral
Muscovy ducks of Florida have many human friends. As
with bears and whales, children may be among the first and
most ardent to take up their cause. Certainly Lewis
Neirman and Nigel Burroughs hope so. Neirman approach-
es his young audience with a lavishly produced picture-
book, aimed at grades 2-5, which has a reasonable chance
of getting into school libraries as a friendly introduction not
only to Muscovy ducks but also to the broader subjects of
wildlife rehabilitation and coping with disability. Leftys
Place actually begins with a family’s adoption of Lefty’s
mother, Keppy, Lefty, the runt of her ducklings, suffers a
severe foot injury. The daughter of the family, Rebecca,
rehabilitates him to the extent that he can be rehabilitated,
then makes him a pet. Most children will enjoy the story;
those who are themselves recovering from illness or injury
may particularly take heart from it.

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New books for dog-lovers

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, Jan/Feb 1994:

Curing Your Dog’s Bad Habits: Treating
Behavioral Problems, by Danny Wilson.
Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. (387 Park Ave. South,
New York, NY 10016-8810), 1994. 108 pages,
$9.95, paperback.
Dog trainer Danny Wilson’s advice about dealing
with difficult dogs should be self-evident to any observer
of canine behavior. Yet astonishingly many people, even
purported dog-lovers, substitute a rolled-up newspaper for
good sense when it comes to enforcing canine discipline.
This isn’t hard to understand, as proper dog-training takes
at least 20 minutes a day, which many busy people just
don’t have. It is to be understood that dog-training time, a
concerted period devoted wholly to the dog, is not to be
confused with time spent in the company of both dog and
family, or jogging with the dog, or walking the dog. Any
of these occasions may be adapted into a dog-training ses-
sion, but only if there is a daily opportunity for reinforce-

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BOOKS: Echosystem: Poems & Poem Cycles

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, December 1993:

Echosystem: Poems & Poem Cycles, by James Strecker. Mini Mocho
Press (Jackson Stn., POB 57424, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada L8P 4X2), 1993, 94
pages, paperback.
In this eclectic collection of jazz
poems, romantic poems, socially relevant
and commemorative poems, James
Strecker frequently considers the plight of
animals in a world dominated by humans.
These, too, reflect a diversity of approach.
Vivisection and the Cat, for example, is a
jazz riff with a blues beat. Like the more
classically structured Thoughts on Reading
and Writing, it dwells on the unspeakable
and offers little hope of redemption.

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BOOKS: Animals, Politics and Morality

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, December 1993:

Animals, Politics and Morality, by Robert
Garner. Manchester University Press (Room 400, 175
Fifth Ave., New York, NY 10010), 1993. 258 pages,
$59.95 hardcover or $24.95 paperback.
“That humans exploit animals is indisputable,”
Robert Garner writes in Animals, Politics and Morality.
“Of greater import is the extent to which this exploitation is
justified.”
Outlining the general historical evolution of
human attitudes toward use of animals, Garner explores in
depth the issues surrounding the use of animals in agricul-
ture and biomedical research, the need for zoos and other
artificially maintained sanctuaries, and the tendency of peo-
ple to view wildlife differently from domesticated species.

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BOOKS: Where The Money Is: A Fund Raiser’s Guide To The Rich

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, December 1993:

Where The Money Is: A Fund Raiser’s Guide To The
Rich (2nd edition), by Helen Bergen. BioGuide Press (POB
16702, Alexandria, VA 22302), 1993, 257 pages, $29.95.
Two items in this issue of ANIMAL PEOPLE indicate the
value of attracting wealthy benefactors: a $4.1 million bequest received
by the Fund for Animals, more than the Fund’s total worth just a few
years ago, and the death of Doris Duke, who left more than $1.2 billion
to charity. Helen Bergen underscores the point repeatedly in Where The
Money Is by citing similar examples, noting that a third of the funds
raised in the typical campaign come from the 10 to 15 biggest gifts. Her
volume is dense with hints on donor research and development. Her
investigative methods are sound (familiar to reporters as well as fundrais-
ers), but they are time-consuming, her text is oriented toward education-
al charities, and there’s little here pertaining to the peculiarities of
fundraising for humane work, one of which is that most big bequests
apparently come not from the wealthy, but rather from people of ordinary
means who have no children and have long relied upon animals for com-
panionship. Humane groups will probably raise more money by develop-
ing means of providing longterm quality care for pets left behind than by
pursuing the rich, no matter how aggressively and astutely.
––M.C.

BOOKS: The Human Nature of Birds

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, December 1993:

The Human Nature of Birds, by Theodore
Xenophon Barber. St. Martins Press (175 Fifth Ave,
New York, NY 10010), 1993, 226 pages, hardcover
$19.95 US, $26.95 in Canada.
What if we all woke up one day to discover the world
around us filled with alien intelligences? Theodore X. Barber
has, and he wants this revelation to become commonplace.
Young children and so-called primitive cultures take
for granted that all creatures on earth share the same fears and
desires, that we are all intelligent in our own way––at least
they do until convinced otherwise by self-styled authorities. In
The Human Nature of Birds, Barber attempts to reverse our
beliefs by examining our “closest wild neighbors, the birds.”
From a lifetime’s experience in psychological research and six
years’ study of birds in nature and in the scientific literature,
he concludes that, “not only are birds able to think simple
thoughts but they are fundamentally as aware, intelligent,
mindful, emotional and individualistic as ordinary people.”

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