I'm not quite sure how I encountered the Animal series published by Reaktion books, but it is one that I have been meaning to write about for sometime.
According to Reaktion books the series is "the first of its kind to explore the historical significance and impact on humans of a wide range of animals...each book in the series takes a different animal and examines its role in history around the world. The importance of mythology, religion and science are described as is the history of food, the trade in animals and their products, pets, exhibition, film and photography and their roles in the artistic and literary imaginations"
I own the two titles relating to my two favourite animals, The duck, and as I'm sure regular readers can guess, The penguin, which only arrived a few weeks ago despite having been on order for 6 months.
What I love about these books is their wonderfully eclectic take on a single subject. The Penguin, by Steven Martin, describes the natural history of the Penguin, including information about the different species (the smallest is the wonderfully named Little Bee Penguin), and how they live. But what I found most fascinating is the cultural history of the penguin and Martin draws on an impressive range of examples - the film Happy Feet, Pingu (sadly, my favourite children's book, Lost and Found did not get a mention), and of course the Penguins in Mary Poppins. The book is lavishly illustrated with photographs of real penguins and images of penguins from the media - not just English examples but Russian too.
The Duck by Victoria De Rijke is similarly fascinating. I wasn't too sure about the section on duck as food (even before I became vegetarian I could never eat duck) but I loved reading about all of the references to ducks in popular culture, toilet duck for example, which I used to insist that my mum bought when I was little.
I'm not sure I would be interested in reading the other titles about animals which I am not so interested in, but I am sure there would be at least one title that would appeal to anyone, and they could make interesting Christmas presents.
I haven't heard of these titles before, but my mother in law collects ducks, so it would make a great present for her - thank you for pointing them out!
ReplyDeleteHmmmm these sound interesting but not sure how much they are my cup of tea. When I am allowed back into book shops in December I might flick through one and see if it grabs me. The duck on might, I had a pet duck when I was little.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely looking series! Very aesthetically pleasing. Is there one on cats, do you know?
ReplyDeleteWhat is the significance of penguins in the Russian media? Were Andrey Kurkov's Penguin books cited? Was The March of the Penguins? I'm thoroughly intrigued.
Ah, just clicked on link and found list!
ReplyDeleteJust had a peek at the website and must report being attracted to the dog and bee books. What a fascinating series...the chocolate and cheese books sound interesting as well.
ReplyDeleteWe have friends whose son is autistic, he too loves penguins! One day, they came for a visit and our previous dog came out of the house to greet them with his stuffed penguin in his mouth. Andrew took one look and ran to the safety of their car. A second went by, the door opened, he threw Mum's purse out onto the drive and slammed the door shut again and locked it. Andrew wanted no part of an animal that could carry a beloved penguin in its mouth!
Jackie - I think they would make good Christmas presents, particularly for in laws!
ReplyDeleteSimon - I think they are more of a dipping into/coffee table book rather than a straight read.
Claire - yes, they are so aesthetically pleasing it would be wonderful to own all of them...March of the Penguins was definitely in there.
Darlene - I would be fascinated to read the Bee book since I know very little about them. I love the Penguin story and am with Andrew on not wanting to be involved with an animal that carries around stuffed Penguins in its mouth!
These are lovely, what a good idea! Great for animal lovers!
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful! I'm particularly drawn towards the whale, tiger, swan, and owl books. Thanks for writing about this, have never heard of this series before.
ReplyDeleteOoh...cat and whale please! I'm not ashamed to admit that not only do I judge a book by its cover, but that I'm willing to buy it JUST for the cover.
ReplyDeleteThanks for popping in writerspet - I would buy these for the cover - although one only tends to be able to see the spine on the shelf :(
ReplyDeleteIn case you were thinking of buying one of the others as a Christmas present, the authors of Snail, Moose, Rat and Owl will be signing books at Blackwell's tomorrow evening:
ReplyDeletehttp://bookshop.blackwell.co.uk/jsp/editorial/shops/instore_events.jsp#Oxford
Thanks for that Owen!
ReplyDeleteThe covers look gorgeous, anybody know who designs them?
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