Overview

Almost every animal carries a symbolic meaning for humans in the case of the kangaroo it is that of peculiarity and strangeness, a reputation that throughout history has led to a troubled relationship betweenmankind and marsupial. Written in a lively and approachable style, Kangaroo relates the story of this odd, yet much-loved creature in Australian and global history, with a particular focus on how the image of the kangaroo has been used and abused. As well as describing the physiology and lifecycle of this unique animal, John Simons outlines the kangaroo in indigenous Australian culture. He looks at the fate of the kangaroo on first contact with Europeans, and considers the wider kangaroo diaspora, including zoo animals and wild populations across Japan and the USA.

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9781861899224

Table of Contents

Reviews

This fascinating study explores kangaroo art from Stubbs to Skippy, as well as culture from boxing to kangaroo courts * <i>The Independent</i> * This charming book comes in Reaktions now familiar pouch-sized format, and is crammed with fascinating information, images and ideas . . . With impressive scholarship, engaging humour and wonderful illustrations . . . Simons explains how the kangaroo evolved from Victorian emblem of otherness to national icon. He also explores the ambivalent attitudes of todays urban Australians, and the much deeper cultural resonances in indigenous Australian society. * <i>The Independent</i> * This study, part of a terrific series, is an entertaining, informed, concise but comprehensive introduction to the beast . . . its the symbolic power of the animal, the way it has become so emblematic of the country here and internationally, from the idealised depictions in Skippy to boxing kangaroos and almost infinite commercial use, to darker depictions in literature and film of kangeroo culls, that preoccupies much of this finely illustrated text. * <i>The Age</i>, Melbourne * Kangaroos signify the other and, indeed, much about them is outlandish. The species is subject to ignorance, but as Simons argues, it has much to teach us. A thorough and entertaining read about a species too many here take for granted. * <i>Sydney Morning Herald</i> * A lively, engaging and reflective socio-cultural and environmental history of the kangaroo, from the southern supercontinent Gondwana to Skippy. This is a big history that links the kangaroo to its continent and the humans that have invaded Australia over thousands of years. Richly illustrated throughout, the book interacts with key questions and contradictions of both kangaroo identity and Australian identity . . . A wonderful book. * <i>The Biologist</i> * Kangaroo is the latest in a wonderful series on animals that covers every species from apes to wolves . . . John Simons has written a fascinating book about this strange but loved animal, going back to the first indigenous societies and the Aboriginals relationship with them . . . This fascinating pouch-sized book with its hundreds of stunning drawings and photographs will appeal to all kangaroo lovers. * <i>The Toowoomba Chronicle</i> *

This study, part of a terrific series, is an entertaining, informed, concise but comprehensive introduction to the beast. . . . It's the symbolic power of the animal, the way it has become so emblematic of the country here and internationally, from the idealised depictions in Skippy to boxing kangaroos and almost infinite commercial use, to darker depictions in literature and film of kangeroo culls, that preoccupies much of this finely illustrated text. --The Age Kangaroos signify the other and, indeed, much about them is outlandish. The species is subject to ignorance, but as Simons argues, it has much to teach us. A thorough and entertaining read about a species too many here take for granted. --Sydney Morning Herald

Author Information

John Simons is Executive Dean in the Faculty of Arts at Macquarie University, Sydney, and a Fellow of the Zoological Society of London and the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics. His other books include Animal Rights and the Politics of Literary Representation (2002), Rossetti’s Wombat (2008) ) and The Tiger that Swallowed the Boy: Exotic Animals in Victorian England (forthcoming, 2012).

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