Customer Reviews:
Extremely satisfying brain-meltdown.......2007-10-01
If you're a fan of logic & puzzles, this is definitely worth picking up. It starts simple and works its way up to nearly impossible, so there should be something on everyone's level. The book is kind of a narrative, but its main purpose is to display and explain more and more advanced logic.
I first found this book when I was 15 or so among my Uncle's things when I was visiting. I stayed up half the night working through the puzzles, but after about halfway through the book, I was completely lost. Years later, after studying symbolic logic in college, I go back and the book gives me new pleasure, though I still can't get through 'all' of it - not quite ;P Its somewhat of a Logic Quest, really.
If you enjoy a challenge, definitely pick this one up.
Fun.......2002-04-11
Great book of puzzles. Perfect for the whole family. It begins with simple yet confusing conundrums and progresses onto complex and more confusing ones! Great way to exercise those little gray cells.
Intellectually stimulating.......2001-05-02
This is a fine book with independent chapters that can be dipped into when you want some good intellectual company. The first few puzzles got me hooked. Smullyan is very good at giving a new twist to old puzzles.
This is a workout for the brain!.......2000-11-30
The author starts out this book of logic puzzles with fairly easy stuff and moves the reader along so gradually that you are able to figure out solutions you never thought you could. But it gets REALLY complex toward the end and in fact lost me part of the time. So don't get too frustrated if you can't figure them all out. If you like logic puzzles, you don't want to miss this one.
An Eternal Testament to the Wonders of Logic and Mathematics.......1999-07-29
Dr. Raymond Smullyan once again spins a yarn, in which professional logic and tantalizing puzzles blend seemlessly into his tasteful story-line, taking us from King X and his logical/macabre sense of humour, to the insane assylums of Doctor Tarr and Professor Feather, then onward to Transylvanyia and the Mysterious Islands, finally to stand along-side Craig as he faces his most challenging puzzle yet in the Mystery of the Monte Carlo Lock (which I am still solving). A must-read.
Customer Reviews:
Deduce like Holmes!.......2007-04-09
Well, or at least, think about it. This small little book by Smullyan is a fantastic collection of logic puzzles arranged in the increasing order of complexity & complete with solutions.
For those of you not intimately familiar with logic puzzles, Wikipedia provides a good definition. And interestingly enough, Smullyan's name & this book are mentioned in that very article. I cannot quite understand why such a book would be out print, but may be there are other ways of passing your time.
Back to the book. The great thing about a verbal puzzle, unlike a non-verbal one like Sudoku, is that there is a story behind it. So while both may be mathematics, if you get a Sudoku wrong - yes, well, nothing much happens. However, if a prisoner who has to deduce an escape route or die - now that's an entirely different proposition. So the "old-fashioned" story-telling continues - different situations, doctors & patients, sane or insane, vampire or human, the Isle of dreams & so on.
Even if you do not have the time yourself, I think this is still a great book to give a child. It is a fun way to learn Mathematics without realizing that you're learning Mathematics. And frankly, wouldn't you just love just love to say something that begins with "Elementary, my dear Watson"
S!
An overlooked gem.......2003-07-22
I find it surprising that this book is almost unknown and out of print. This collection of logic puzzles is easily one of the best ever written. Starting with a small set of lighthearted teasers, continuing with progressively more serious problems, including probably the most complete variations on liar/knight and metapuzzle themes, and finishing with the best amateur level introduction to "serious" mathematical logic I have ever seen. The ideas are presented with amazing clarity and in the form digestible to the most casual reader, preserving the beauty but without compromising the essence of the arguments.
Don't let this one get away if you can find a copy.
more logic puzzles.......2000-04-24
What a shame that this book is out of print. It is another of Raymond Smullyan's wonderful logic puzzle books; one that I found almost as challenging as To Mock a Mockingbird. Smullyan is a first rate mathematician, and it is quite a testiment to him that he is able to construct these logic puzzles that are both lots of fun to solve and also teach non-mathematicians how to think about serious logical issues. I found this book at a garage sale. Maybe you'll be lucky too!
Book Description
Olga Greenlaw's remarkable memoir of the Flying Tigers--the mercenary pilots who defended Burma and western China during the open months of the Pacific War--was one of the earliest accounts of the American Volunteer Group, and it's still one of the best. This new edition has been edited and annotated by Daniel Ford, who wrote the definitive history of the AVG.
Customer Reviews:
AVG/SILVERPLATE.......2007-03-13
Since I have a number of books and P-40B models(1st,2nd,&3rd Squadrons)I found that this book completed my research on the FLYING TIGERS.Other volumes delt with aircraft,markings,combat,and only touched briefly on Harvey and Olga Greenlaw.She filled in the void.I should have liked to have met them both.My home town is Los Angeles and I was in the Air Force(Korean War). She was must have been QUITE a woman since the men, upon seeing her reacted'like dogs straining at the leash'.
Fascinating book.......2006-12-24
Brings a completely diffrent perspective to a well known story. There is little absolute truth when studying history and this book is definitely told from Olga's perspective. Having said that I don't think any study of the AVG would be complete without reading this book. I would have given 5 stars but the print quality and in particular the pictures are very poorly reproduced. A pity, this book desrves better.
The Lady and the Tigers.......2006-07-28
A 'must read' for those interested in the history of aviation during the World War Two period by an author who lived it. Gives the reader a new perspective on how the war in the Pacific really got started. A great companion book for Dan Ford's "Flying Tigers" and Greg Boyington's "Baa Baa Black Sheep"
The Lady and the Tigers.......2002-06-02
I've been searching for this out of print book for decades and have found a few over the years but with it being a highly sought after title and out of print for so long I couldn't justify the cost of an original copy. Now I don't have to since this reprint and new edition with more information added is available. This is a great book on a great group done like no other on the AVG-Flying Tigers. An inside point of view from Olga Greenlaw, the only female (a timeless beauty I might add)of the group that defended Rangoon, the Burma Road and China in the very early days of WWII. This book gets into details and personalities that most of the other books on the Tigers only touch upon. The author herself is a mystery in most of the other books on the AVG but she's fully revealed in this one. The one photo of her on the waterfront, slit skirt and all may be worth the cover price alone.
No fan of the Flying Tigers should be without this book.
The no-sweat history of the Flying Tigers.......2002-06-01
Highly recommend! Not only is Olga Greenlaw a handsome lady (check out the legs in that photo on the waterfront in Shanghai!) but she writes a rollicking good yarn. If you're new to the Flying Tigers this is a great way to get an overvue of the group that saved China and almost saved Burma from the Japanese. She was there, unlike most of the people who wrote the histories of the Tigers, and she was writing with her diary in front of her. If she makes a mistake, Mr. Ford quietly corrects it [like this]. The editing is helpful but never annoying.
Plus Olga Greenlaw is a fascinating woman in her own right. Many are the stories written about her and flying tiger pilots like Pappy Boyington. Mr. Ford sets us straight on this matter also. Olga, he says, didn't sleep around nearly as much as people like to believe. There's a very convincing history of Olga's early years and how she came to be with the Flying Tigers, and also an account of what became of her afterward.
Something for every WWII aviation buff to have on his shelf!
Average customer rating:
- A child's beautiful memories
- Interesting nuances of life in Kashmir
- Koul writer of the Kashmir Soul
- Haunting and beautiful memoir
- a Paradise Lost to war
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The Tiger Ladies: A Memoir of Kashmir (Bluestreak)
Sudha Koul
Manufacturer: Beacon Press
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Binding: Paperback
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Istanbul: Memories and the City
ASIN: 0807059196 |
Book Description
Sitting in her grandmother Dhanna's kitchen, surrounded by the aromas of mint and the smoke of a hookah, warmed by the kangri tucked beneath her thighs, young Sudha Koul listened to tales of She Who Fears Nothing: The Tiger Lady, stories Sudha would repeat to her own daughters in time, though in a kitchen many thousands of miles away from her beloved Kashmir. This is a magical memoir of a land now consumed by political and religious turmoil, a richly detailed story of a girl's passage into maturity, marriage, and motherhood in the midst of an exquisite and fragile world that will never be entirely the same.
Customer Reviews:
A child's beautiful memories.......2006-03-06
Most of this book is thoroughly engrossing. It is a memory, pure and simple. No attempt to analyze or rationalize, just a statement of life as it was, full of detail, painting the picture of an idyllic life with no fear of the future, not questioning any facet of existence, as a child views the world. As an insight into life in Kashmir at a certain period of time, it was a lovely portal, and certainly lends poignancy to all that appears in the news as to the wars that rage in the region.The beauty and richness of her culture and the family warmth that were hers shine through every page.
If the book had ended with her life in Kashmir, it would have been a beautiful book, but it continues on to detail a stereotypical immigrant existence in America. The author appears as a particularly impotent mother and representative of her culture. And in one very ironic paragraph, she refers to cultures that have been wiped out (native Americans) so that she might now occupy their place, but declares this a natural cycle, while at the same time lamenting the loss of her culture as an irretrievable tragedy. The childishness lingering into adulthood is not as appealing a read.
Overall, though, the loss of momentum at the end does not change the fact that it is a wonderfully vivid and captivating memoir and probably is a testimony to a lost way of life.
Interesting nuances of life in Kashmir.......2004-07-16
A good read for second generation Kashmiri Americans. The details were of interest, since of course its a world that Kashmiri-Americans of second generation will not get a chance to see. It's the kind of book I'd like to read with a Kashmiri close at hand to find out if the details are authentic (and not catered to the audience), and the experience universal. A unique find, though, since it's unclear how many books can tackle life in Himalayan valleys from the inside. Validates that Kashmiri pandits deserve and need to contribute to their own body of literature, write their own histories rather than relinquish that right to historians.
Koul writer of the Kashmir Soul.......2003-05-10
A beautifully written book of the Kashmir valley before the invasion of the Mujahadin and other Muslim terrorist actions from outside the peaceful valley of peaceful coexistence amongst the Kashmiri Hindus and Kashmiri Muslims. Ms. Koul, a former Indian majistrate with a Masters in Political Science from India writes a book for her children to learn of the beautiful life in Kashmir where young soon to be bethrothed women view Pashmina wool embroidered shawl samples dating back 100 years. The samples are easily viewed and ordered from the Kashmiri Muslim merchant who then continues the Pashmina relationship with the daughter or granddaughter's trousseau.
Ms. Koul effectly evokes a resplendant memoir without the heavy hand of serious political analysis which tends to be dry and flacid. A life too beautiful, too luscious, too happy, too comfortable to notice the cloak of darkness that would envelope paradise.
After attending her reading and purchasing Tiger Ladies, I am excited to add it to my collection of important soul books: The Red Tent, Woman Warrier, Autobiography of a Yogi and Facing Two Ways. Kashmir may be a memory of what once existed in a valley of Lotus eaters yet Ms. Koul's book concludes with a simile in the complacency of life in the US where life too is too comfortable, too beautiful, and perhaps too happy for Americans. (Incidentally written before 9.11.2001.) Which perhaps helps us to realize that there is yet another cloak of darkness enveloping us called American corporate imperialism ...product invasion via Hollywood, gasoline consumption, mass consumerism of junk products, junk food, junk tv, junk religion, junk politicians and the reaction against it by the Mujahadins of the Muslim world. Now in paperback form, this book is a respite from the propaganda on evening news in America.
Haunting and beautiful memoir.......2003-05-10
A lovely and bittersweet memoir of Koul's life in paradise, the Kashmir region of India. It's a tale of a lost way of life in a region that has been sundered by strife, conflict, and ultimately war between India and Pakistan, Hindus and Muslims.
Of especial interest is the reverence in which women of the region were held - in a country in which women are often no more than chattel. The Tiger Ladies is a book rich in sensual detail, a book people can enjoy on many levels: as travel literature, as a cultural study, for the descriptions of the food - and most of all as a loving and haunting memoir of a time and place that no longer exist.
a Paradise Lost to war.......2002-10-01
In Sudha Koul's beautifully written memoir of her youth and young adulthood in Kashmir, she brings the reader a vivid sense of her wonderful years spent there, and the bittersweet memories she revisits upon her return to a war-torn nation. Not having known much about the regional conflict, this book helped me understand who the people of the Kashmiri valley are today, and who they were before conflict came to rule their daily lives.
Ms. Koul's many stories of her grandmother, Danna, are a touching tribute to her grandmother's memory. Danna had her own particular ways of running her household. Many of these traditions have been passed down from mother to daughter through several generations. It is this sense of continuity from which the author draws her resolve and ambition to be both a respectful Brahmin daughter, and a successful 20th-century woman with a career outside the marital home.
There are many great stories to be enjoyed in this gem of a memoir. It is one of the best of its kind, and one of my favorite books this year.
I look forward to enjoying her other works.
Book Description
Enter a magical realm of fantasy and adventure....a world of brave heroes, daring quests, and fabulous monsters!A sleepy village is thrown into a flurry when the local man-eating monster decides to pay a call in "The Griffin and the Minor Canon."A gentle beekeeper undertakes a dangerous journey to solve a sorcerer's mysterious riddle in "The Bee-man of Orn."Having angered the ruthless king of a faraway land, a young hero is forced to face the ultimate challenge....choose "The Lady, or the Tiger"?And re-enter the tiger's arena with "The Discourager of Hesitancy"--the rare and difficult continuation of "The Lady, or the Tiger"!These are but some of the timeless tales in this collection by a master American storyteller!
Download Description
Includes: The Lady or the Tiger?, The Magic Egg, His Wife's Deceased Sister, The Widow's Cruise, Captain Eli's Best Ear, Love Before Breakfast, The Staying Power of Sir Rohan, A Piece of Red Calico, The Christmas Wreck, My Well and What Came Out of It, Mr. Tolman, My Unwilling Neighbor, Our Archery Club, and The Stories of the Three Burglars
Customer Reviews:
"The Lady or the Tiger?" Which door did she choose?.......2004-02-03
In "The Lady or the Tiger," Frank Stockton intended to make readers believe that the princess chose the door with the tiger behind it because she seemed like the type of person who would rather see her lover die than marry another woman. After all, she is semi-barbarian. Maybe if she weren't semi-barbarian, she'd choose the door with the lady whom she hated behind it. She chose the tiger's door because she was jealous. She saw her lover and the woman speaking and trading glances, which obviously creates jealousy. Ultimately, jealousy makes everyone seek revenge, which is why the princess chose the tiger as her lover and the woman's punishment. This short-story was a good read. However, the movie that compliments the story is absolutely horrible. I wouldn't recommend it. Which door would you have chosen: the lady or the tiger?
A fun collection of fantastic imaginative stories........2003-07-07
I regret waiting until I was 31 to read this gem. It appears this book has been well read and well recognized the world over for some reason or other. I never have heard of it until I picked it up in a second hand book store. I sure am glad I did.
Stockton wrote in the late 1800s to early 1900s. His works, mostly fiction, tell stories of the oddest occurences and strangest events. However, they are amusing and linger in the readers mind and heart, making his writing resilient.
I haven't shared these stories with my students yet, but I certainly plan on doing so. The title story and it's sequel are great reads, but I also found The Griffon and the Minor Canon to be just as entertaining. Our Archery Club will also stick with me for a long time to come.
Stockton's style is excellent. He creates complex plots surrounding profound paradox and irony. This is appealing for its witty impact and satirical humor. His characters are genuine, colorful and memorable.
Stockton also demands a little more than an attentive audience with his readers. He penned interactive literature with the title story and its sequel, but also demands that listeners or readers be thinkers. He tends to tuck moral and ethical principles in his stories as well, but this does not make them preachy in any way.
The copy I have is an older publication of this mass market paperback edition. I would like to find a collection of Stockton's stories in an anthology, but I'm not sure one exists. I believe that everybody should read Stockton's work and that he should be remembered as one of America's best authors of adolescent literature.
Excellent Reading.......2003-01-25
Most people are aware of Stockton's Lady or the Tiger story, but many are not aware of the story's sequel, The Discourager of Hesitancy. That's the reason that I got the book, but the other stories in it are fantastic. I definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes well written, imaginative stories. Frank Stockton's humor is terrific.
Loved it!.......2001-12-18
I had to read "Lady or the Tiger" for Language Arts, and then write a possible ending to it. I think it was the most amusing project I've ever had to do, it gave me thousands of ideas and I wanted to write down each and every one.
It really got my brain running and I still have ideas for how to make my ending better, and more believable...(somehow I changed this story to sci-fi with my ending.. but it will make 100% sense when I'm done with it)
A Teacher's Perspective.......2001-07-29
While not all of the stories in this book count as great literature by today's standards (although some certainly do), the title story in this collection is seriously thought provoking. Some of the best discussions in my 8th grade English class were spurred on by "The Lady or the Tiger," which is an excellent story to use to further the development of critical thinking skills. It also serves as a literary Rorshach test, promoting self exploration and evaluation. Frank Stockton obviously respected children's ability to think for themselves, and his appreciation for the intelligence of the young clearly comes through in these stories. I enjoyed reading this one when I was a teenager, and love passing it on to my students. If somehow, you have missed reading this, I highly recommend it.
Average customer rating:
- An impressive and historic memoir of a little know piece of history
- An engaging memoir about Taiwan during a tumultuous time in
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THE LADY AND THE TIGER: A memoir of Taiwan, the Republic of China
PATRICIA LINDER
Manufacturer: AuthorHouse
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Row, Row, Row Your Boat
ASIN: 1418437743 |
Book Description
Patricia Linder's newest book The Lady and the Tiger gives the reader and in-depth account of life in a foreign country during a politically uncertain time. The setting is Taiwan, Republic of China during the last days of the Mutual Defense Treaty in 1979. To the west is communist China, determined to reclaim this island it calls "a rogue province" and thereby, impose communist rule on what has been a democracy for thirty years. Rear Admiral James Linder, representing the U.S. government as the Commander of Taiwan Defense Forces, has been given the job of protecting the Republic of China from any such incursion. The Linders, acting upon official Department of Defense orders, take up residence in Taipei and the countdown begins. As the author deals with the challenges of the ways of the Far East, the time grows shorter for the safety of the Chinese and Taiwanese they have come to know and care about. On December fifteenth 1978, the Carter Administration abrogates the Treaty that guarantees Taiwan's safety, thus leaving the Island vulnerable to a communist attack. Riots ensue and lives are threatened. This is the story of a virtually unknown chapter of American history.
Customer Reviews:
An impressive and historic memoir of a little know piece of history.......2006-10-29
The first chapter just jumps right into the dangers and emotions that author Patricia Linder found herself in during a little remembered part of our foreign policy. Her experiences living in Taiwan during a time when the United States was pulling its protection and official recognition to build relations with communist China, is one full of emotion. Her first person account of that period of history is very well told in her newest book "The Lady And The Tiger."
Linder does a masterpiece of reporting from her own heart and soul. She sounds like someone who not only was there physically, but was fully aware of all the political and social issues that surrounded what was happening. She has an intelligent grasp of what happened and why. She writes with great passion and skill to weave the facts and emotions together to give the story lots of energy and movement. This book, at times, reads almost like an action novel. You will get hooked from page one and will have a hard time putting down the book.
She faces riots, mobs and angry people all with great courage. She has to deal with tapped phones, and armed guards that she cannot fully trust and even rooms in her own residence that are bugged with listening devices. The events and culture that she found in Taiwan are not what this wife of a Rear Admiral was expecting. This was a tour of duty that was going to really test her soul!
Great book to read! It has the MWSA's TOP BOOK RATING - FIVE STARS!
MWSA's 2006 Silver Medal Award for Memoirs
An engaging memoir about Taiwan during a tumultuous time in .......2005-05-10
"The view was wondrous. High mountains rose straight up before me, and as I watched, a flock of white birds...winged their way together across the face of the nearest mountain. It was a Chinese painting in motion."
Not everything was idyllic during Pat Linder's years in Taiwan. For this savvy, globe-hopping Admiral's wife, her husband's posting to Taiwan in 1977 proved not to be for the faint of heart. Earthquakes, political upheaval and the language barrier made for a bumpy ride indeed. There are undercurrents of trouble throughout, from the mysterious phone call advising her to unpack before she ever leaves the U.S., to the daunting number of armed guards around their Taiwan residence, to a rare eye disease that increasingly obscures her vision. And she is scathing in her comments about the cruel practice of foot-binding, designed to keep women from running away from their husbands.
Yet the memoir also contains moments of sheer hilarity, as when Pat makes her first attempt at using chopsticks at an official function, or when - desperate to get her air conditioning fixed - Pat speaks into one of the bugged ceiling fans in her home.
Readers will be amazed to learn how, in 1933, the most valuable pieces from a Beijing art museum were packed into crates and then carried on the backs of peasants for 16 years, lest Japanese or Communist Chinese forces find and destroy them.
When the U.S. government breaks off diplomatic relations with Taiwan in 1978, Pat's sympathies are obviously with the Taiwanese people, whom she has come to admire and love.
Since the Admiral shared only unclassified information with his wife, readers will get little in-depth discussion of actual political events. But Pat writes with warmth, humor and passion that is quite engaging.
Average customer rating:
- Love, Death and a choice. As simple as great.
- Love, Death and a choice. As simple as great
- It was a good story.
- A suspensful book with a questionable ending
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The Lady or the Tiger? (Creative Classic Series)
Frank Richard Stockton
Manufacturer: Creative Education
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Library Binding
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ASIN: 0871919680 |
Book Description
Unabridged Audiobook in MP3 format.
Customer Reviews:
Love, Death and a choice. As simple as great........2000-06-17
Is it as simple as a princess in love being able to save the life of her beloved? You read it once and it sounds as a tale for kids. You read it twice and you can understand there's a circle that never ends. The lady or the tiger? or What would you choose when the choice is love or death?
Love, Death and a choice. As simple as great.......1999-11-11
Is it as simple as a princess in love being able to save her beloved's life? You read it once and it sounds as a tale for kids. You read it twice and you can understand there's a circle that never ends. The lady or the tiger? or What would you choose when the choice is love or death?
It was a good story........1999-10-07
"In my idea the doors at the end of the story represent the struggle for someone in love and the travisty it causes."
A suspensful book with a questionable ending.......1999-08-28
I would loved this story, except that it doesn't give you and ending to the suspense, the story however is well written and descriptive
Book Description
In Taylor's Ark and Medicine Show, Shona Taylor fought death and disease--with a menagerie of very special assistants. Now, in an all-new novel, Dr. Taylor takes on a new assignment, and discovers a chilling reality behind a picture-perfect planet.
Customer Reviews:
A sequel that's just filling time.......2004-04-22
It's quite clear that Jody Nye has some talent as a writer, but this book, the third in a series of separate novels, appears merely to be cashing in on the previous works. This novel is basically set up as a mystery thriller--what is it about the planet Jardinoor that the very rich inhabitants are hiding from their substitute doctor? I'll avoid spoiling the plot, except to say that it has something to do with the animals and alien that travel with the heroine, Shona Taylor, and the planet's inhabitants fixation on animals.
The writer is deft at handling the larger construction of the book, but this book is disappointing on a variety of levels.
For starters, despite the milieu and onstensible setup, it is not an SF novel or even a sci-fi novel, not really. Search-and-replacing "starship" and "planet" with "tramp steamer" and "island" would make this a contemporary novel. Indeed, very minor wordsmithing would make this a Western ("horse", "remote Western town") or a tepid spy thriller ("submarine", "Soviet Union").
The core of this novel contains a variety of interesting modern concerns (animal welfare, cloning, stem cell research, bio-ethics, climate/plantary change, even gay marriage). Despite spending time building up such weighty topics freighted with possibility, the author avoids or plays down the sticky issues (turning the real crime of the black-hearted villain into theft, rather than confronting the ethical problems at hand).
The characters are entirely stereotypical, with no moral contradictions (good people are invariably good---often by who they associate with---while the bad people are mostly misguided). Many of the characters actions and events are driven by the necessities of the plot rather than the plot emerging from the personalities and foibles of the characters. The author actually seems unwilling to allow even her bad characters to violate what appear to be her own ethical standards.
I gave this book three stars because it is readable and literate in its faults and I genuinely like some of the central characters. There are some nice touches, such as the handling of personal space or an entirely automated culture. As pulp fiction it is almost adequate. But I must admit that I'm almost angry that a writer with this level of talent is just churning out something this uninspired.
If you've not read "Needle", "Case of Conscience", or "Word for World is Forest", go pick those up. Each of those confront some of the themes that this book uses as mere window dressing. Unwilling to tread on shaky moral ground or commit to a position, this novel is unworthy of its author.
Customer Reviews:
A must read about the plight of animals used in entertainment.......2007-05-03
This book is wonderful. You will cry. You will become very angry about the injustices of the animal trade in the entertainment industry. It gives an inside look at what goes on that we on the "outside" of the industry know precious little about. Things are not all rosy, far from it. If you wish to stay in denial, this is not the book for you but if you are ready to hear the truth, it's a must read.
Walking a fine line........2004-12-12
I, too, bought this book in the 70s, and was cured by it of the notion that wild animals can ever live happily with people. After ten years as a veterinary technician, I've had to back off that notion, but only a little. There are a very, very few people out there who are willing to understand a wild animal and adapt themselves to its needs. These people--many of them are trainers--can actually enrich the lives of the captive wild animals they work with. I'm not one of them. You'll probably conclude, after reading this book, that you aren't either.
That Pat (and her excellent ghostwriter Peter S. Beagle) can negotiate this boundary is remarkable. Although the book is quite sentimental, it also talks about the dangers of sentiment. And Pat doesn't pull any punches, sharing with us times when, out of ignorance and/or desparation, she did things she isn't proud of. She comes off as being deeply divided, and rightly so, about her right to have anything to do with these creatures, even though she obviously loves them deeply and devotes her life to understanding them. The last I heard, she was involved in sanctuary work, rescuing exotic "pets." Hallelujah!
For a deeper undestanding of the conversations that can happen between humans and animals when true respect and attention are maintained, I also recommend the books of trainer Vicki Hearne.
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