Love, hate and hypocrisy: the best books about animals and humans

Author Aminatta Forna recommends a canine history by Konrad Lorenz, and Karen Joy Fowler’s novel about a family that raises a chimp, We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves

A pack of wolves follows a sled, picking off the sled dogs and then the occupants one by one, to the last man. So begins Jack London’s White Fang, published in 1906. The wolf pack is led by a wolfdog, Kiche. The ensuing story is told from the viewpoint of Kiche’s wolf pup, White Fang, through whose gaze we view the violence of the parallel worlds of animals and humans. White Fang is the narrative mirror of London’s earlier The Call of the Wild, in which a pet dog, kidnapped and used as a sled dog, runs away to join the wolves. Wildness is the true nature of animals, though the challenges of survival in the wilderness can also turn man into a beast, London seems to say. White Fang ends up enjoying domesticity with his new master, many miles away from the Yukon. Humans have triumphed over nature, but nature is still out there.

In 1952 Konrad Lorenz, a former member of the Nazi party who would later repent and go on to win a Nobel, published King Solomon’s Ring in English. A chapter imagines the start of the relationship between humans and canines. A pack of jackals followed Stone Age man’s hunting expeditions and surrounded his settlements, and were tolerated, accepted and ultimately encouraged, for the warning barks they gave at the approach of predators, and their tracking skills. The jackals, which initially followed the hunters in the hope of scraps, began to take the initiative, running before instead of behind the hunter, bringing to bay larger animals. And so was created the covenant: food and warmth in exchange for protection.

Continue reading...

from Books | The Guardian http://bit.ly/2EYmm0Q

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Mine management and predictive maintenance are top priorities for miners

Image
While miners are starting to trial and make small investments in technologies such as augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR) and cloud computing, the traditionally conservative mining sector remains focused on improving efficiency and productivity by continuing to invest in mine management software and predictive maintenance. GlobalData’s latest report, Global Mine-Site Technology Adoption Survey 2018 , reveals that while investment by the majors is currently well ahead of mid-tier miners and producing juniors, higher shares of the latter two groups are planning investments in mine management software and predictive maintenance given their immediate impact on improving productivity. Source: GlobalData Mining Intelligence Center The report includes data and analysis from the company’s survey of over 200 worldwide mine sites which investigated the extent to which mines had invested in 13 different technologies ranging from communication systems to drones, predictive maintenance...
Read more

Life Insurance for Older Parents

Image
You never stop being a parent. Even in old age, we still worry about our children and what their future will look like once you are no longer in their lives. Fortunately, with a secure life assurance set up, you are given the opportunity to take care of them even after you are gone. If you are an aging parent and you have dependents who will suffer financial loss if you were to pass away, life insurance can help you find ways to safeguard your loved ones from any financial hardship when you are not around. Normally when you are older, you are settled and enjoying retirement or your golden years Your children are most often older and are now providing for themselves, leaving you only to take care of yourself and your spouse. This usually enables you to save in order to provide for your dependents in the case of your death. However, this is not always the case, which is why many older parents look into purchasing life insurance. Aging parents who are still working ...
Read more