Don't read this if you like animals

The controversies about this book go back to its publication (the "nature fakers" dispute instigated by John Burroughs). But I loved reading the book as a kid, and I loved re-reading it as an adult just as much. Seton's work makes the sensitive reader of any age more empathetic towards animals, and in my eyes that can only be a good thing. ( )

I listened to this via podiobooks.com. I found this very entertaining and thoroughly enjoyed it! ( )

This is one of those books I read time and time again as a kid at the public library, but until very recently only had vague memories of. I remember often enough turning the pages of the borrowed book, an edition with pawprints running up and down each page margin and lots of pen-and-ink illustrations. Now I finally had a chance to read it again, after finding a used copy.

Wild Animals I Have Known is a collection of stories about animals that the author claims are based on true events. One tells about a wolf famed for preying on livestock, that cleverly evaded all attempts to poison him. There is also the story of a partridge, a savvy crow that leads a large band, and a beautiful wild horse that can outrun anything. I recognized part of the story about the fox- where a vixen tried to free her captive cub by burying the chain it was tied to. And I was a bit incredulous at the rabbit story- would a mother rabbit really kick a snake to free her young? Just as interesting as the wild animal stories were two about dogs- which might just as well be called wild. The first was a dog that ran around free on the prairie, grappling with wolves and eating off dead livestock himself, in one marvelous incident assisting the author when he got caught in his own wolf traps! The other was about a "yaller dog" which had been trained to faithfully care for sheep, and when his owner ditched him on a journey, the dog waited ages at a ferry for him to return. By the time he managed to attach himself to a new master, the dog's temperament had changed entirely, and although he protected his own flock dutifully enough, he proved to be a terror to the neighboring farms. Anyhow, the stories are not all pretty. Most of them have some violence, animals being torn apart by gunshots or hurt in traps. There are quite a few sad or ironic endings. I liked reading them anyway.

from the Dogear Diary ( )

I am fascinated by Seton, but this was so terrible. It's well written and everything, but it's also boring and predictable and heavy handed, and you pretty much despise him the entire time. The most memorable moments are those in which you are hating him the most -- like when he and his buddies lasso a wolf and ride off on their horses in different directions so they can kill her in a way that preserves her fur coat. ( )