1 comments about In Remembrance of a Special Cat: A Keepsake Memorial.

1. "In Remembrance of a Special Cat" is similar to a sympathy card in that it has poems and verse to help the recipient handle grief. I gave a copy to a friend whose pet died. A month later that friend showed me the book and the pictures of her cat, from kitty to maturity, that she had glued into the book on the pages reserved for photographs. My friend told me that, of all the words of condolence she had received from friends, that this little book was the most important.

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3 comments about Final Farewell: Preparing for & Mourning the Loss of Your Pet.

1. This is a wonderful book and I recommend it for anyone who has an older pet or a terminally ill pet or has just lost a pet. I read it while preparing for the loss of my cat, and best friend, a 20 year old gray tabby boy. A year after I read it, he was diagnosed with lymphoma and this book helped me so much during that time. I now buy it for friends who are going through the same. It's so nice to be able to help a friend with a book like this.



2. This is a very good book with lots of information. These authors understand what it is like to lose an animal friend. It suggests preparing for your animal's loss before it happens so that one doesn't have to think about what to do when the loss occurs and thing's get emotional.



3. We found out about this book through a link on when we knew the death of our beloved Muffin was soon. It really and truly helped us to prepare ahead of time for what we wanted for him--so we wouldn't be making decisions after the fact. It also reaffirms that fact that the grief one feels for the loss of a much-loved pet is real and not something "silly". While it's not fun to think about, those who have a pet (re. of breed or type) they love dearly may want to have this. There's also a chapter about post-death grief and how to help young children deal with the death as well. Recommended highly!

5 comments about The Jaws of Death.

1. I have been interested in sharks ever since the first time I saw Jaws The Jaws of Death is an illuminating glimpse into everything shark-related. It has fascinating facts on attacks and types of sharks, beautiful drawings and pictures, and all the information you would want to know about these amazing creatures. s



2. The Jaws of Death was an amazing book. For all the techincal information on the animal's biology, I found it to be an easy read. Although, I'm probably bias, because I've always found sharks to be interesting.

   Maniguet gives countless examples of shark attacks, and then explains why the shark might have attacked. It's a nice insight into their thinking. Numerous diagrams of the shark's anatomy help with explaining the complex sensory organs. They are absoluting incredible!

   This is a great book for anyone who is really intrigued by these beautiful animals. Even if you don't find them to be the most amazing creatures, you will after flipping through this book.




3. Maniguet covers just about every aspect of sharks, and from a perspective of human contact. One long chapter covers shark attacks on humans, while the rest of the book covers anatomy, behaviour, and human interface, with some attacks interspersed. The book is technical in parts, but not too much so. I was looking for a factual book on sharks and shark attacks, not sensational but not boring, and this was perfect.



4. This book is one of the best I've been able to find on sharks, and I could not put it down! I must have read it over three times already just to remember all the information it contains!

   It has detailed pictures and information on shark anatomy, favored myths about sharks, factual accounts of shark attacks, some information on other animals such as crocs and killer whales, and xavier puts forth several facts and theories about shark behavior. In the back it also contains an encyclopedia of sharks.

   This is not a book for those with weak stomachs, since the pictures are very graphic of those attacked by sharks, even though most of which were only 'investigative bites'(and people get struck by lightning more often than attacked by sharks).

   Since it was originally copyrighten in 1991, there are one or two new shark facts that are missing in this book(as opposed to the many facts that are usually missing in other shark books), but this is still the best for its time, and one of the best informative books for the present.

   I would suggest this book for anyone deeply interested in sharks. It answers alot of questions and asks many other thought-provoking ones, keeping the reader hooked from cover to cover.




5. Although known as the swimming death of the seas Xavier Maniguet ties to explain the truth about sharks. He also tries to close a gap between this perfect fitted animal and its status of a killer-machine. Especially by facing the reader with some horrifying photographs of human shark-attack victims. But the book also shows in a scientific and breathtaking way the other strange side of these misunderstood animals and let sharks not look like a man-eating machine but also as an important member in our ecosystem. For those who are really interested in sharks this paper is a MUST! And for me who faced a real Great White once in South Africa it is even more than that.

1 comments about When Your Pet Dies: Dealing With Your Grief and Helping Your Children Cope.

1. This book really helped me when my dog died. It covers subjects such as how we relate to pets, ways people grieve, pets that die suddenly or after a long illness, choosing euthanasia, helping children when a pet dies, and many other topics. My dog died after a long illness and that section was very good for me. It is a very well written, easy to read book.

1 comments about The Old Man.

1. All proceeds from will goto the humane society and dogs for seniors programs so please show your support! Its a great short story about a man who lost his wife and found comfort and friendship in a stray dog.

4 comments about Small Deaths: Photographs (Southwestern & Mexican Photography Series, Wittliff Collections at Texas State University-San Marcos).

1. There is a great deal of juxtaposition in Kate Breakey's work, and to great effect; though her photographs capture often pitiable subjects, particularly the birds, they portray them with a magnificence of color they could only dream of in life. Breakey's photography is excellent and evocative, and her skillful application of color to each image only heightens the experience. Soft focus and a saturated palette produce a dreamlike quality to many of her pieces. As I turned the pages of the book, I felt sadness for the small creatures that go unnoticed, but I was also moved by the quiet dignity they have in death. Breakey's treatment of her subject matter elevates it from the mundane to the transcendent, and it's an utterly captivating journey.



2. This book has received the Southern Books Competition 2001 Award of Overall Excellence for book design. "Truly enchanting, this is a wonderful example of how valuable intellectual content is enhanced and enriched by thoughtful book design. From the breathtaking front and back covers to the informative colophon at the end, this is an exceptional book. Color continuity from jacket to the text pages rewards the reader and enhances legibility. The dramatic frontispiece dazzles, and the title page is clear and elegant. Section openings mirror the title page opening. Plates and captions combine in bright, clean two-page spreads that inform and reward the viewer." Congratulations to the author, designers D.J. Stout & Julie Savaska of Pentagram Design, and the University of Texas Press.



3. I bought this book after not being able to find any other images online except the cover. I was really looking forward to owning it; I'm one of those people who collect things like tiny bird bodies, egg shells, nests....
   It's a beautiful concept, but the format of the book was extemely disappointing; too much white space framed the images, keeping the viewer at a distance instead of inviting intimacy, empathy. The creatures in the photographs often looked posed.

   The images also would have been more touching if they hadn't seemed so manipulated in color. It was like the photographer hadn't truly been recording the beauty of the "insignificant" deaths but seeking and exploiting them by forcing unnatural aspects on them.
   
   I also expected this book to be filled with the record of the deaths of bird, rodents, lizards.... not the many images of dying flora that looked like pop culture greeting cards.




4. A beautiful book of an art form created with a heartfelt sensitivity for some of nature's smaller creatures.

3 comments about In a Desert Garden: Love and Death Among the Insects.

1. This book relates some of the observations that Alcock made when he converted his grassy lawn in front of his Arizona house from grass to desert flora. In his neighborhood, residents dutifully maintained wide swaths of green grass through continuous fertilizing, watering, cutting, and trimming. They controlled pests and weeds through spraying, but if they missed one chemical treatment or watering, unwanted species would begin to take over. When Alcock first moved to the area, he went along with local custom for several years. Finally, he asked himself why he was working so hard to maintain grass at such high economic and environmental costs, when it was really the desert surroundings that he enjoyed. It took some effort to kill his lawn and replace it with a yard filled with thriving desert species, but maintenance eventually became much easier and cheaper once he had landscaping fit for the local environment.
   
   As an entomologist, Alcock greatly enjoys observing the insect life in his new yard. In this book, as well as describing how he transformed his yard, he also describes such insects as ladybugs, praying mantises, earwigs, desert termites, paper wasps, bees, grasshoppers, inchworms, whiteflies, mayflies, and aphids. The book is arranged into chapters by topic, including chapters on insects that control pests, compost lovers, insects that sting, camouflage experts, alien insects, and migrating insects. In reading the book, I was struck by how fascinating the lowly insect species can be. The book is written in an informal style appropriate for general readers. It is illustrated with black and white drawings by Turid Forsyth. Scientific sources are listed in a bibliography at the end of the book (but not referenced directly in the text), and there is an index.



2. John Alcock loves Nature. Sometimes, though, getting from a suburban home to the wilderness he relishes can be tedious. So he brought some of his favoured Sonoran Desert environment to his front yard. Using a ramshackle Kubota tractor, he stripped away the layer of Bermuda grass surrounding his house. Over time, and with no little effort, he transformed that yard into a little pocket of desert environment. All this was more than an exercise in redecorating, however. Alcock studies insects, especially their mating rituals, and this transplanted environment gave him ample opportunity. Even if his practice of crouching over desert shrubbery at odd hours raised a few neighbourhood eyebrows.

   Alcock loves what he does, imparting his passion to us with lively prose. His academic background merges with his expressions of feeling to keep this book a delight to read. This blending places his writing skills in a comfortable [and comforting] niche somewhere between E. O. Wilson and John McPhee or David Quammen. He keeps you at ease as he builds the desert floor, inserts shrubbery and vegetables, and welcomes the bird and insect visitors to his creation. He protects the native species of plants and animals where possible, but doesn't summarily reject harmless exotics. And he carefully explains how to tell the difference.

   The underlying reason for the garden's transformation was to attract insects. Alcock is at his best in watching, analysing and explaining the life styles of desert bees, wasps, beetles and the rest. How did they develop those behaviours? What do their activities it mean to us humans, who are too often ardently killing the ones in our own gardens. He poses his questions with the puzzlement of fresh discovery. Then, adroitly picking through the available evidence - while calling out for further studies - he sifts through the optional answers to deliver the most likely, and most logical scenario. Yet, at no point are you being "lectured to". Instead, you are introduced to some of the awesome array of variation nature offers. This is no specialist's daunting lecture, but the confessions of a man who finds wonder in small things. It's also, of course, an example for any reader to enter his own yard to consider restoring it some state of origins instead of developer's artificiality.

   Alcock's view of his environment isn't wholly without concerns, however. There's no question of his concern for the impact of unrestricted "development". Phoenix, the urban hub of his home in Tempe, is one of the fastest growing cities in the US. With reconstructed landscapes, imported species, proliferating golf courses and a staggering consumption of water, this emblem of "progress" is another urban blight on the landscape. Alcock is uncomfortable with this situation, but nearly helpless to block it. His example of bringing some of the countryside into the city and restoring a bit of balance at a time is an example we should all consider carefully. His book's photo collection will make every gardener smile knowingly. The illustrations portray the object of his studies. With this combination he has produced an example of what a single individual [with some spousal support] can achieve, and told us all about it in this fine book. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]




3. I thoroughly enjoyed this intersting, thought provoking book from John Alcock. His thoughts on the modern American lawn should be required reading in the suburbs. The world would be a better place if all would read and comprehend his thoughts on connecting ourselves to the myriad wonders that go on all around us every day.

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