Overview
At the beginning of the 20th century, the wild animal story emerged in Canadian literature as a distinct genre, in which animals pursue their own interests - survival for themselves, their offspring, and perhaps a mate, or the pure pleasure of their wildness. Bringing together some of the most celebrated wild animal stories, Ralph H. Lutts places them firmly in the context of heated controversies about animal intelligence and purposeful behaviour. Widely regarded as entertaining and educational, the early stories - by Charles G.D. Roberts, Ernest Thompson Seton, John Muir, Jack London and others - had an avid readership among adults and children. But some naturalists and at least one hunter - Theodore Roosevelt - discredited these writers as ""nature fakers"", accusing them of falsely portraying animal behaviour. The stories and commentaries collected here span the 20th century. As present-day animal behaviourists, psychologists and the public attempt to sort out the meaning of what animals do and our obligations to them, commercial books, films and television documentaries have become the main source of public information about nature and wild creatures. In this account of our radically changed views of animals, Ralph Lutts maps some of the prominent features of our cultural landscape. Tales include: ""The Springfield Fox"" by Ernest Thompson Seton; ""The Sounding of the Call"" by Jack London; ""Stickeen"" by John Muir; and ""Journey to the Sea"" by Rachel Carson. Other selections include essays by Theodore Roosevelt, John Burroughs, Margaret Atwood and Ralph H. Lutts.
Full Product Details
Author: Ralph Lutts
Publisher: Temple University Press,U.S.
Imprint: Temple University Press,U.S.
Edition: 1st New edition
Dimensions:
Width: 15.20cm
, Height: 2.30cm
, Length: 22.90cm
Weight: 0.485kg
ISBN: 9781566399180
ISBN 10: 1566399181
Pages: 320
Publication Date: 12 September 2001
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
Professional & Vocational
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: Out of stock
The supplier is temporarily out of stock of this item. It will be ordered for you on backorder and shipped when it becomes available.
Reviews
A marvelous collection of turn-of-the-century animal stories...The Wild Animal Story is well conceived, sensibly organized, admirably complete, and judiciously framed. One hopes that this indispensable and fascinating sourcebook will inspire renewed critical attention to this promising area of research. -ISLE ...an invaluable sourcebook of information about the 'nature fakers' controversy that engaged many of the leading figures in natural history at the turn of the century... Given the inaccessibility of many of the documents it collects, as well as the thoroughness with which it presents them, The Wild Animal Story would make an excellent classroom resource... -Environmental History
A marvelous collection of turn-of-the-century animal stories...The Wild Animal Story is well conceived, sensibly organized, admirably complete, and judiciously framed. One hopes that this indispensable and fascinating sourcebook will inspire renewed critical attention to this promising area of research. --ISLE
""A marvelous collection of turn-of-the-century animal stories...The Wild Animal Story is well conceived, sensibly organized, admirably complete, and judiciously framed. One hopes that this indispensable and fascinating sourcebook will inspire renewed critical attention to this promising area of research."" --ISLE
"""A marvelous collection of turn-of-the-century animal stories...The Wild Animal Story is well conceived, sensibly organized, admirably complete, and judiciously framed. One hopes that this indispensable and fascinating sourcebook will inspire renewed critical attention to this promising area of research."" --ISLE"
A marvelous collection of turn-of-the-century animal stories...The Wild Animal Story is well conceived, sensibly organized, admirably complete, and judiciously framed. One hopes that this indispensable and fascinating sourcebook will inspire renewed critical attention to this promising area of research. -ISLE ...an invaluable sourcebook of information about the 'nature fakers' controversy that engaged many of the leading figures in natural history at the turn of the century... Given the inaccessibility of many of the documents it collects, as well as the thoroughness with which it presents them, The Wild Animal Story would make an excellent classroom resource... -Environmental History
Author Information
Ralph H. Lutts, Associate Faculty, Goddard College Off-Campus BA/MA Program and Adjunct Faculty, University of Virginia, Division of Continuing Education, is the author of The Nature Fakers: Wildlife, Science, and Sentiment.
