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The Animal Dialogues: Uncommon Encounters in the Wild
From one of the finest nature writers at work in America today; a lyrical, dramatic, illuminating tour of the hidden domain of wild animals.
Whether recalling the experience of being chased through the Grand Canyon by a bighorn sheep, swimming with sharks off the coast of British Columbia, watching a peregrine falcon perform acrobatic stunts at 200 miles per hour, or engaging in a tense face-off with a mountain lion near a desert waterhole, Craig Childs captures the moment so vividly that he puts the reader in his boots.
Each of the forty brief, compelling narratives in The Animal Dialogues focuses on the author's own encounter with a particular species and is replete with astonishing facts about the species' behavior, habitat, breeding, and lifespan. But the glory of each essay lies in Childs's ability to portray the sometimes brutal beauty of the wilderness, to capture the individual essence of wild creatures, to transport the reader beyond the human realm and deep inside the animal kingdom.
Whether recalling the experience of being chased through the Grand Canyon by a bighorn sheep, swimming with sharks off the coast of British Columbia, watching a peregrine falcon perform acrobatic stunts at 200 miles per hour, or engaging in a tense face-off with a mountain lion near a desert waterhole, Craig Childs captures the moment so vividly that he puts the reader in his boots.
Each of the forty brief, compelling narratives in The Animal Dialogues focuses on the author's own encounter with a particular species and is replete with astonishing facts about the species' behavior, habitat, breeding, and lifespan. But the glory of each essay lies in Childs's ability to portray the sometimes brutal beauty of the wilderness, to capture the individual essence of wild creatures, to transport the reader beyond the human realm and deep inside the animal kingdom.
323 pages, Hardcover
First published December 12, 2007
About the author
Craig Childs
33 books360 followersCRAIG CHILDS is a commentator for NPR's Morning Edition, and his work has appeared in The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Men's Journal, Outside, The Sun, and Orion. He has won numerous awards including the 2011 Ellen Meloy Desert Writers Award, 2008 Rowell Award for the Art of Adventure, the 2007 Sigurd Olson Nature Writing Award, and the 2003 Spirit of the West Award for his body of work.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 299 reviews
October 25, 2021
The niftiest of books, I enjoyed every single "encounter" and I'm still stunned by what I learned of coyotes. They will survive.
I spy this book on a student's To-Read shelf, so I will happily hand my copy over to my favorite classroom library. I'm already excited to hear what the students have to say about this collection of creatures.
I spy this book on a student's To-Read shelf, so I will happily hand my copy over to my favorite classroom library. I'm already excited to hear what the students have to say about this collection of creatures.
April 20, 2008
I would give this book six stars if I could! This is one of the best nature books I have EVER read. Childs covers encounters with everything from mosquitoes to mountain lions. He has spent large blocks of time in true wilderness, sometimes under great hardship. He's a risk-taking crazy man at times, but he has respect for the creatures he meets along the way. He also writes beautifully about the majesty of the great outdoors.
I read this book slowly and savored every paragraph. The author manages to teach the reader much about the history, science and evolution surrounding each creature without being boring. He has distilled the most interesting bits of information so you don't have to read all those boring science books yourself.
Besides all this, the book is just fun and exciting to read. Childs has had some close calls with scary creatures.
I read this book slowly and savored every paragraph. The author manages to teach the reader much about the history, science and evolution surrounding each creature without being boring. He has distilled the most interesting bits of information so you don't have to read all those boring science books yourself.
Besides all this, the book is just fun and exciting to read. Childs has had some close calls with scary creatures.
January 5, 2012
I just loved this book - the writing was fantastic; it was absolutely lyrical.
The writing was just very poignant and if you are a nature or animal lover, I think you would really appreciate it. For example, the dog chapter, though short, was perfect, just the right blend of poignant and practical, and I love how he connected it with the nature of humans at the end.
He talks about having his camera with him on some of his adventures so I wish there were pictures. But that's just a small want on my part.
The one thing that got to me, that made stop reading and almost discount everything I'd read up to then (which was pretty much the whole book since I was near the end), was when he talks about squids. He says, "The largest animal on the planet is a squid, a rubbery predator that lurks in deep sea trenches." (p296) He even goes on to mention that some "reach lengths of sixty feet" - but that's still not as large as a blue whale, which can be 100 feet. So what the hell? Is there some nuance of writing I missed there? I tried to google the error but didn't come up with anything.
Okay, but other than that (glaring!) error, I did love this book!
Some of my other favorite quotes:
This far north the sun was still up, although very low, riding through the mountains as if looking for something it lost on the ground. (p24)The author shares his experiences with various animals in the wilderness (or even in his backyard). The book is divided into chapters based on each different animal, including everything from a mountain lion, to a raven, down to a praying mantis. I could imagine the scenes as I read, picture them happening in front of my eyes. During the mountain lion chapter, I felt like I was there, waiting to see if the cat would come out and attack me.
The writing was just very poignant and if you are a nature or animal lover, I think you would really appreciate it. For example, the dog chapter, though short, was perfect, just the right blend of poignant and practical, and I love how he connected it with the nature of humans at the end.
I imagined this was not an easy life for a dog in such isolated country, working alongside a grouchy caballero, ever aware of the presence of large wild animals lurking in the woods beyond. I tried to look away and hear what the caballero had to tell us, but the mutt was staring right at me, insisting I address her, damn near scratching a secret SOS into the dirt with her paw. We were a ray of hope for her, strangers with welcoming smiles, but there was nothing I could do for her. I looked away. (p70)Overall, I just love the respect and appreciation that he gives to animals and to nature.
The elk that you glimpse in the summer, those at the forest edge, are survivors of winter, only the strongest. You see one just before dusk that summer, standing at the perimeter of the meadow so it can step back to the forest and vanish. You can't help imagining the still, frozen nights behind it, so cold that the slightest motion is monumental. I have found their bodies, half drifted over in snow, no sign of animal attack or injury. Just toppled over one night with ice working into their lungs. You wouldn't want to stand outside for more than a few minutes in that kind of weather. If you lived through only one of those winters the way this elk has, you would write books about it. You would become a shaman. You would be forever changed. That elk from the winter stands there on the summer evening, watching from beside the forest. It keeps its story to itself. (p183)I loved this one description he gave:
This is not wilderness for designation or for a park. Not a scenic wilderness and not one good for fishing or the viewing of wildlife. It is wilderness that gets into your nostrils, that runs with your sweat. It is the core of everything living, wilderness like molten iron. (p156)Even though this is a place I would never go to, that I could not survive in, I just loved reading about it. It reminds me that nature was not made for us. It exists, indifferent to us and our needs. It's good to be reminded.
He talks about having his camera with him on some of his adventures so I wish there were pictures. But that's just a small want on my part.
The one thing that got to me, that made stop reading and almost discount everything I'd read up to then (which was pretty much the whole book since I was near the end), was when he talks about squids. He says, "The largest animal on the planet is a squid, a rubbery predator that lurks in deep sea trenches." (p296) He even goes on to mention that some "reach lengths of sixty feet" - but that's still not as large as a blue whale, which can be 100 feet. So what the hell? Is there some nuance of writing I missed there? I tried to google the error but didn't come up with anything.
Okay, but other than that (glaring!) error, I did love this book!
Some of my other favorite quotes:
Most animals show themselves sparingly. The grizzly bear is six to eight hundred pounds of smugness. It has no need to hide. If it were a person, it would laugh loudly in quiet restaurants, boastfully wear the wrong clothes for special occasions, and probably play hockey. (p24)
Hilarious, on coyotes migrating East:
Some suggest that they hitched on ice floes of the Northeast coast, and I imagine all the ice floes that missed land, coyotes going out to sea, never heard from again. (p39)
Coyotes move within a landscape of attentiveness. I have seen their eyes in the creosote bushes and among mesquite trees. They have watched me. And all the times that I saw no eyes, that I kept walking and never knew, there were still coyotes. When I have seen them trot away, when I have stepped from the floorboard of my truck, leaned on the door, and watched them as they watched me over their shoulders, I have been aware for that moment of how much more there is. Of how I have only seen only an instant of a broad and rich life. (p39)
January 21, 2012
This was a wonderful book-- and though I read it a while ago, looking back I can't imagine why I ever gave it only 4 stars. Though I shall preserve my past thoughts and opinions, even if I might not agree with them now, I must say this is a truly beautiful book. The writing is simple, quiet, like a shimmering white snowfall in the silence of the wilderness, but it shines with a hidden lusciousness that makes it thoroughly enjoyable to read, especially when the quiet pitter patter of the rain comes in through the window. The experiences he held with the various animals throughout the book, as well as simple but breathtaking descriptions of their beauty, are interesting at times, wildly entertaining at other times, and sometimes frightening and suspenseful. This is a great book for an easy, quick, but enjoyable and beautiful read, and I recommend it to wilderness and wildlife lovers. Also, I really loved the cover art, which was a plus because sometimes I would just turn to look at the cover and pretend I'm really there, watching the snow spiral softly to the ground and observing a majestic, snow-dusted puma move stealthily to the forest.
November 13, 2021
Craig Childs’ publisher and I subscribe to the same basic advertising principle: “Put a cat on it, and people will buy it.” Check.
You can judge this book by its cover; there is beauty on the inside too – both in the richness of the language and in the forest and desert environments he describes so evocatively.
The meadow leads south and east, into walls of young, seditious mountains that erode in radical crags like candle wax. Wind channels along this meadow, brushed off the mountains like a shrugged comment. The grass bends beneath its words.
The sanctuary is deep with gray and green. Beards of lichens hang from the Sitka spruce. Four of the spruce are standing dead, surrounding one another, leaning in to whisper with the slow insistence of old men.
There are tension-filled scenes where our intrepid (sometimes foolhardy) narrator courts danger with hypothermia and the wild creatures you’d expect (bears, mountain lions, jaguars) and moments of quiet reverence with a grandfather and the smaller wonders like birds, frogs, and wasps. My husband even picked this up without prodding and thoroughly enjoyed a few chapters himself, after which we sat on the deck and listened to the owls hoot in the blackness of our own dense forest.
Anthropomorphism is generally frowned upon. It is said to be improper to see animals the same way we view ourselves. We are asked to temper our language when speaking of animal traits, lest we call them by a name that is not theirs, forming words in our mouths that do not sound like a snake’s whisper, a grasshopper’s clicking. It seems just as odd, though, to sequester ourselves in a cheerless vault of sentience, sole proprietors of smarts and charm. Bees form a mind of a hive, don’t they? Doesn’t the bear dream when it sleeps, and don’t grasses stretch with all their might toward the sun? Every living thing has the same wish to flourish again and again. Beyond that, our differences are quibbles.
Highly recommended.
You can judge this book by its cover; there is beauty on the inside too – both in the richness of the language and in the forest and desert environments he describes so evocatively.
The meadow leads south and east, into walls of young, seditious mountains that erode in radical crags like candle wax. Wind channels along this meadow, brushed off the mountains like a shrugged comment. The grass bends beneath its words.
The sanctuary is deep with gray and green. Beards of lichens hang from the Sitka spruce. Four of the spruce are standing dead, surrounding one another, leaning in to whisper with the slow insistence of old men.
There are tension-filled scenes where our intrepid (sometimes foolhardy) narrator courts danger with hypothermia and the wild creatures you’d expect (bears, mountain lions, jaguars) and moments of quiet reverence with a grandfather and the smaller wonders like birds, frogs, and wasps. My husband even picked this up without prodding and thoroughly enjoyed a few chapters himself, after which we sat on the deck and listened to the owls hoot in the blackness of our own dense forest.
Anthropomorphism is generally frowned upon. It is said to be improper to see animals the same way we view ourselves. We are asked to temper our language when speaking of animal traits, lest we call them by a name that is not theirs, forming words in our mouths that do not sound like a snake’s whisper, a grasshopper’s clicking. It seems just as odd, though, to sequester ourselves in a cheerless vault of sentience, sole proprietors of smarts and charm. Bees form a mind of a hive, don’t they? Doesn’t the bear dream when it sleeps, and don’t grasses stretch with all their might toward the sun? Every living thing has the same wish to flourish again and again. Beyond that, our differences are quibbles.
Highly recommended.
May 23, 2012
I absolutely fell in love with this collection of essays. The piercing, understated style of Childs' writing took my breath away with every description of meeting or observing an animal in the wild, some merely curious encounters and some very nearly life-threatening. There is an organic poetic sensibility in his writing as well, one that demonstrates his understanding not only of animal nature, but of nature in general and our place in it. His philosophy and imagery hearken to that expressed by Antoine de St. Exupery in Wind, Sand, and Stars, another of my beloved favorites.
Upon rereading part of this last year, I found myself a bit more sensitive to some references to animal deaths or treatment, nothing overtly cruel or outside common carnivorousness, but Childs does not mince words. Something for similarly sensitive readers to be aware of, but by no means a reason to avoid this incredible book.
Upon rereading part of this last year, I found myself a bit more sensitive to some references to animal deaths or treatment, nothing overtly cruel or outside common carnivorousness, but Childs does not mince words. Something for similarly sensitive readers to be aware of, but by no means a reason to avoid this incredible book.
February 5, 2009
If all it took to write a good book was experience, this book would be awesome. Unfortunately, Childs' only advantage is that he managed to get close to some wild animals. His prose is bland, and his book his the literary equivalent of background music. Forgettable.
April 23, 2024
My 4th time thru this, I think. Can't get enough of Craig Childs :)
November 25, 2018
For anyone who actually lives out among the wild critters, this is either a howler or a groaner, depending on the chapter.
By the time I got done I was really torqued at the Jaguar for not having eaten the author while he had the chance, on all of our behalves.
October 8, 2023
Fascinating and beautifully written. Recommended for any animal / nature lover.
September 29, 2018
I just couldn't finish this. Having a degree in environmental science, I usually enjoy any nature book but I felt his prose seemed pretentious.
January 10, 2024
Content/Trigger Warnings: Blood, death, spiders, section on rattlesnakes, section on sharks
Wow, what can I really say about this book. It's actually really hard to describe how I feel because there were very few times where I enjoyed myself reading this book. I also feel the title is a bit misleading in making you believe that the author has any connection with the animals that are in this book. While it's clear the author has led an interesting life and experienced things people only dream of, I think the most common thing I have to say about this book, that a lot of readers are saying, we want the animals not the author.
I think the biggest key factor that really grinded my gears was the author writes himself in a tone that's arrogant and almost with a tone like he considers himself on the same level as Steve Irwin, at times. That wasn't the only thing that was hard to get past. It was really hard to accept the fact that this man claims to be an animal lover, but yet his views and treatment towards domestic animals is questionable. Examples, the entire story about dog really didn't sit right with me especially as an animal lover and someone who works with animals on the daily, but the one story that bothered me the most was the cat story. That story made it very clear the author sees domestic animals in a lesser light and just doesn't understand their value. There's also times where the author just exhibits unnecessary cruelty to other animals. Yes, nature is brutal and cruel, but as humans we have the choice not to be. He also demonizes sharks in one of the final chapters of the book which really struck a nerve with me and made it painstakingly obvious that the author has no knowledge of animals he encounters.
Not only all of that, but the pacing is really slow. Typically when I read books like this, I can easily devour them, but between the author's tone, sometimes the lack of common sense (having to touch wildlife with no training or former experience which he adamantly admits), and the way author just fact dumps (several facts which are false) at times, it was a cocktail for slow pacing.
Overall, there were some stories that I really enjoyed like the crow, the owl, the mountain lion, and a few others. I'm just so disappointed and wanted more. However, I just can't recommend this book to anyone. If you're coming to the book to learn accurate wildlife facts, learn more about nature, or want uncommon encounters, go look elsewhere.
All thoughts, feelings, experiences, and opinions are honest and my own.
Instagram|Ko-fi|Throne
Wow, what can I really say about this book. It's actually really hard to describe how I feel because there were very few times where I enjoyed myself reading this book. I also feel the title is a bit misleading in making you believe that the author has any connection with the animals that are in this book. While it's clear the author has led an interesting life and experienced things people only dream of, I think the most common thing I have to say about this book, that a lot of readers are saying, we want the animals not the author.
I think the biggest key factor that really grinded my gears was the author writes himself in a tone that's arrogant and almost with a tone like he considers himself on the same level as Steve Irwin, at times. That wasn't the only thing that was hard to get past. It was really hard to accept the fact that this man claims to be an animal lover, but yet his views and treatment towards domestic animals is questionable. Examples, the entire story about dog really didn't sit right with me especially as an animal lover and someone who works with animals on the daily, but the one story that bothered me the most was the cat story. That story made it very clear the author sees domestic animals in a lesser light and just doesn't understand their value. There's also times where the author just exhibits unnecessary cruelty to other animals. Yes, nature is brutal and cruel, but as humans we have the choice not to be. He also demonizes sharks in one of the final chapters of the book which really struck a nerve with me and made it painstakingly obvious that the author has no knowledge of animals he encounters.
Not only all of that, but the pacing is really slow. Typically when I read books like this, I can easily devour them, but between the author's tone, sometimes the lack of common sense (having to touch wildlife with no training or former experience which he adamantly admits), and the way author just fact dumps (several facts which are false) at times, it was a cocktail for slow pacing.
Overall, there were some stories that I really enjoyed like the crow, the owl, the mountain lion, and a few others. I'm just so disappointed and wanted more. However, I just can't recommend this book to anyone. If you're coming to the book to learn accurate wildlife facts, learn more about nature, or want uncommon encounters, go look elsewhere.
All thoughts, feelings, experiences, and opinions are honest and my own.
Instagram|Ko-fi|Throne
May 3, 2024
Craig Childs is so good at writing about animals. His writing is so descriptive and relaxing and I loved it.
My favorite chapters were:
- Coyote
- Raccoon
- Raven
- Deer
- Mosquito
So if you want to pick up this book and read a couple of chapters, read these ones. None of the chapters are related to each other so you don't have to read them in order.
My favorite chapters were:
- Coyote
- Raccoon
- Raven
- Deer
- Mosquito
So if you want to pick up this book and read a couple of chapters, read these ones. None of the chapters are related to each other so you don't have to read them in order.
January 20, 2022
This book took me by surprize. Written in a way that any nature enthusiast can relate to, bringing experiences alive... Well worth the read!
November 29, 2018
I did not love this book & that was because I was too hung up on the encounter with the dog. It unsettled me, I can't understand how someone who professes to love animals can drag an unwilling dog back to its torment, it was probably an american escapee, that's why it was so excited to see Craig & his friends. His cavalier attitude to domestic animals extends to cats as well, he got a kitten who had never had human contact & expected it to be interested in cat toys & then was surprised when it raced out the door, never to be seen again.I get it, Craig is human, flawed & with all the contradictions everyone else has, he has just chosen to reveal them & he says in the questions at the end he has ideological problems with domesticated animals, its like he respects them less, which is very unfair, after all Craig himself is a domesticated animal.
The passage about the ravens was interesting, I just couldn't shake the dog off. I am currently reading apocalyptic planet, he is certainly a talented writer & gets to go places I can only dream of, I would have saved the dog as well as the raccoon. I did read most of it.
The passage about the ravens was interesting, I just couldn't shake the dog off. I am currently reading apocalyptic planet, he is certainly a talented writer & gets to go places I can only dream of, I would have saved the dog as well as the raccoon. I did read most of it.
June 24, 2009
The book is a collection of essays documenting Craig Childs' unique encounters with wildlife. Child's insatiable curiosity, intensive research, and creative writing abilities contribute to a superb read and new understanding of the wildlife encountered.
While working in the Library of the Colorado Division of Wildlife I had put together a collection of news articles in on the "last grizzly bear shot in Colorado." Newspaper accounts vary a lot from Childs' account. I think I remember pictures of a man in a hospital bed recovering from injuries resulting from that incident. To find the newspaper accounts in the Library I think you would just have to search the subject heading of "grizzly [or `grizzly bear':] -- Colorado." That is unless they have completely changed to a totally different search engine. Who knows? Childs' account is on pages 210-211 in the chapter on the prehistoric camel and unlike the news articles, Childs describes the `last grizzly of Colorado' to be an aged, arthritically stricken female rather than a raging male.
While working in the Library of the Colorado Division of Wildlife I had put together a collection of news articles in on the "last grizzly bear shot in Colorado." Newspaper accounts vary a lot from Childs' account. I think I remember pictures of a man in a hospital bed recovering from injuries resulting from that incident. To find the newspaper accounts in the Library I think you would just have to search the subject heading of "grizzly [or `grizzly bear':] -- Colorado." That is unless they have completely changed to a totally different search engine. Who knows? Childs' account is on pages 210-211 in the chapter on the prehistoric camel and unlike the news articles, Childs describes the `last grizzly of Colorado' to be an aged, arthritically stricken female rather than a raging male.
January 24, 2012
A collection of various essays regarding the author's encounters with animals in the wild. I thoroughly enjoyed every single essay with the exception of the sea lion (the sea lion essay just didn't connect with me). My favorite was the mountain lion. The author includes tremendous scientific facts and history regarding the different species, so the book was both entertaining and extremely informative. I found myself sharing tidbits of info that I had gleamed from the different chapters. For example, I had to tell some friends and family about the reproductive patterns of the coyote (see pages 37 and 38) - incredible information. If you enjoy animals and outdoor wilderness experience, I strongly recommend this book.
January 4, 2014
Back in August, before a road trip, I wandered through the library aisles, searching for something that would have short parts to it that I could read to my husband or he could read to me while we drove. I came across this book, and while we were driving, asked to be read a chapter. We chose at random, "Camel," which proved to be exhaustively boring. But we persevered, and were next rewarded with "Raccoon," which proved to be one of the most entertaining stories about an animal I've ever heard. Over the next several months, we continued to read the book, mostly my husband out loud to me, before bed or on other road trips. Finally tonight we finished! If you like animals, or funny true stories, or amazing true stories, read this.
May 3, 2011
OK, I admit I have a Craig Childs problem. This is the 3rd book of his that I have read since seeing him speak about three months ago. I am very struck by how I have not met Craig previously, or run into more of his fans. If you like wild places, particularly places in the American West, then this is your guy. The writing is excellent, but what has captured my imagination is his curiosity, and then drive with which he goes out and tramps about in deserts, forests, and such. We all know these places hold treasure for the mind, but most of us do not actually go out and do it in any depth. I am starting to worry I will have soon worked through his entire published collection.
January 8, 2014
Good animal encounter stories. Lots of natural history. It's the kind of book you and pick up any time. Each chapter is like a short story.
November 21, 2014
Found the author's style pompous and arrogant. Couldn't get past his bragging manner. When I found myself rooting for the stalking mountain lion, I decided to quit reading.
May 7, 2019
Good, I liked the stories but the writing was fluffy... poetic ish? I rolled my eyes a lot.
March 26, 2024
"From one of the finest nature writers at work in America today -- a lyrical, dramatic, illuminating tour of the hidden domain of wild animals
"Whether recalling the experience of being chased through the Grand Canyon by a bighorn sheep, of swimming with sharks off the coast of British Columbia, of watching a peregrine falcon perform acrobatic stunts at two hundred miles per hours, or of engaging in a tense face-off with a mountain lion near a desert water hole, Craig Childs captures the moment so vividly that he puts the reader in his boots.
"Each of the compelling narratives in The Animal Dialogues focuses on the author's own encounter with a particular species and is replete with astonishing facts about the species' behavior, habitat, breeding, and life span. The glory of each essay, however, lies in Childs's ability to portray the sometimes brutal beauty of the wilderness, to capture the individual essence of wild creatures, to transport the reader beyond the human realm and deep inside the animal kingdom."
~~front flap
This is an amazing book! Each essay is a perfect little jewel, leading the reader into the life of a wild animal, bird, raptor, insect or fish. You see with the animal's eyes, smell with its nose, feel the rush of cascading hormones during the rut, tremble and cower in fear as a predator draws near ...
Childs must have spent the better part of his adult life in the wilderness, to have had so many astonishing encounters. Most people are lucky to have two or maybe three -- he's survived hundreds. To experience the beauty of the remote wilderness, to walk in the boots of a consummate naturalist, to be transported into the body of an animal or bird and experience life through their eyes and senses ... read this book. You won't be able to put it down.
"Whether recalling the experience of being chased through the Grand Canyon by a bighorn sheep, of swimming with sharks off the coast of British Columbia, of watching a peregrine falcon perform acrobatic stunts at two hundred miles per hours, or of engaging in a tense face-off with a mountain lion near a desert water hole, Craig Childs captures the moment so vividly that he puts the reader in his boots.
"Each of the compelling narratives in The Animal Dialogues focuses on the author's own encounter with a particular species and is replete with astonishing facts about the species' behavior, habitat, breeding, and life span. The glory of each essay, however, lies in Childs's ability to portray the sometimes brutal beauty of the wilderness, to capture the individual essence of wild creatures, to transport the reader beyond the human realm and deep inside the animal kingdom."
~~front flap
This is an amazing book! Each essay is a perfect little jewel, leading the reader into the life of a wild animal, bird, raptor, insect or fish. You see with the animal's eyes, smell with its nose, feel the rush of cascading hormones during the rut, tremble and cower in fear as a predator draws near ...
Childs must have spent the better part of his adult life in the wilderness, to have had so many astonishing encounters. Most people are lucky to have two or maybe three -- he's survived hundreds. To experience the beauty of the remote wilderness, to walk in the boots of a consummate naturalist, to be transported into the body of an animal or bird and experience life through their eyes and senses ... read this book. You won't be able to put it down.
August 20, 2023
The author has spent a lot of time in nature. This book brings together essays he has written on various animals/wildlife he has come into contact with in his travels, along with extra information about those animals.
I listened to the audio, and it was ok. Similar to short stories, I found some more interesting than others, but it was easier than I’d have liked to become distracted when listening. Some of the ones I was able to keep a bit more focus on: mosquito (and maybe not one one would have thought an essay to be written on!), squid, wasp, coyote, raven, pronghorn, bighorn sheep, praying mantis. There were quite a few chapters on different birds, but I did lose focus on some of those (though I love birds!). I was definitely less interested in fish and his exploits fly-fishing.
I listened to the audio, and it was ok. Similar to short stories, I found some more interesting than others, but it was easier than I’d have liked to become distracted when listening. Some of the ones I was able to keep a bit more focus on: mosquito (and maybe not one one would have thought an essay to be written on!), squid, wasp, coyote, raven, pronghorn, bighorn sheep, praying mantis. There were quite a few chapters on different birds, but I did lose focus on some of those (though I love birds!). I was definitely less interested in fish and his exploits fly-fishing.
March 1, 2023
4.5 Stars rounded up.
A collection of short stories sharing the experiences between wildlife and the author. This book has been on my "want to read" shelf for a while and I finally took the time to read it, and am glad I did. This book is best read as one or two chapters a day. Getting your daily dose of nature and wildlife is a great reminder that we are animals after all.
Craig Childs did a good job of being engaging while still keeping the spotlight on the animals. I really enjoyed reading this book, especially in a time of my life where my interactions with the wild are limited.
Great job!
A collection of short stories sharing the experiences between wildlife and the author. This book has been on my "want to read" shelf for a while and I finally took the time to read it, and am glad I did. This book is best read as one or two chapters a day. Getting your daily dose of nature and wildlife is a great reminder that we are animals after all.
Craig Childs did a good job of being engaging while still keeping the spotlight on the animals. I really enjoyed reading this book, especially in a time of my life where my interactions with the wild are limited.
Great job!
October 9, 2019
I was excited to read this book since I have seen many of the animals he writes about. Although he writes well, lyrically even, I guess I was disappointed. I wanted more about the animals and less about him. I settled into the book after a while, but at times was bored :-(
Totally agree that, as he says in the intro, this book is best sipped - a chapter here and there rather than read "left to right".
Totally agree that, as he says in the intro, this book is best sipped - a chapter here and there rather than read "left to right".
May 15, 2022
Child's has led an interesting life, full of initiative and curiosity. His sharing of facts about animals gleaned from other sources I found very helpful. He has a knack for writing, which I always appreciate, but I am not endeared to his attitude about some animals. It makes it hard to understand why he enjoys spending his time in search of these vignettes unless it is simply to write about them.
September 10, 2024
Interesting stories, even if they're only half true.
October 1, 2021
I loved this book. So beautifully written. I'll re-read it again and possibly again. So happy to have it on my shelf. A comfort really.
February 11, 2022
My love of all creatures made this an obvious must read. What I loved most about it was how much I learned about so many animals. As is most always the case with books that take me deep into nature, I laughed and cried and went deep down the Google rabbit hole learning more about the things touched on in the book.
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