About the Book
Humans and animals live together on earth, but as we increasingly reshape ecosystems to accommodate larger populations, technology, and increased consumption, animals are greatly affected. The history of civilization shows that humans have used animals for food, clothing, transportation, making a living, and even companionship, as well as subjects for the arts, literature, and within religious beliefs. Renowned animal behaviorist Marc Bekoff and 300 experts from around the globe provide more than 350 essays that discuss such topics as animals and ecology; animals and global warming; animals as food; animals as pets; animals and diseases; animals in research and in education; animals providing assistance; and the influence of animals in art, religion and philosophy, literature, music, dance, and entertainment. Students and all those wanting a better understanding of the reciprocal connections and interdependence of organisms on the planet will benefit from this fascinating and instructive reference work.
Bekoff and contributors ranging from scientists and researchers in other disciplines to teachers, writers, and artists along with those who work with animals in service, rescue, and training have provided engaging and thought-provoking entries ranging in length from 500 to more than 5,000 words. Each entry in the encyclopedia ends with recommended further resources, which may include books, articles, Web sites, and videos.
The volumes are illustrated with photographs, drawings, charts, and tables. An extensive bibliography, comprehensive index, and classified lists of entries provide extensive access to the contents of the encyclopedia.
About the Author :
Marc Bekoff is Professor of Biology at the University of Colorado, Boulder, and co-founder with Jane Goodall of Ethologists for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. He has won many awards for his scientific research including a Guggenheim Fellowship and is a prolific writer with more than 200 articles and two encyclopedias to his credit. The author or editor of numerous books, including the Encyclopedia of Animal Rights and Animal Welfare, The Encyclopedia of Animal Behavior, The Emotional Lives of Animals and Animals Matter. In 2005 Bekoff was presented with The Bank One Faculty Community Service Award for the work he has done with children, senior citizens, and prisoners. His Web site is http://literati.net/Bekoff.
Review :
With this handsome new set he has completed a companion trio of Greenwood animal encyclopedias. Nearly 350 essays and 18 sidebar entries are arranged alphabetically within some 43 topical clusters. The essays range in length from 400 to 7,000 words, and most include bibliographies. Well illustrated with charts and photos, some in color, the encyclopedia is a pleasure to use for both reference and browsing. The essays, contributed by international scholars from numerous disciplines and cultures, span a wide range of theoretical, factual, and applied topics covering many species of wild and domesticated animals. With so many contributors, the quality of the essays naturally varies: a few are merely routine, but most are excellent. Many leading scholars have nicely summarized their major research findings here. Most of the essays take neutral positions, even on controversial topics, but a few provocative personal essays are featured. Each volume includes both an alphabetical list of entries and a list of entries featuring particular species. The editor provides a preface and introduction, chronology of animal protection events, bibliography of selected resources, and information on the editor and contributors. Highly recommended. All levels.
This four-volume collection of essays by a most impressive group of authors, including Jane Goodall, explores global and historical connections with animals. Topics are organized alphabetically with individual essays for each topic. A cross-index by specific animals and a general index will also help find specific subject matter….The individual essays are highly readable with lively text and include a wealth of additional resources at the end of each piece….This resource should be a major target for any student seeking information involving human interactions with animals, whether for personal enrichment or classroom assignment. It is an expensive but valuable resource for both students and teachers.
This encyclopedia covers all aspects of human-animal relationships, bringing together many viewpoints on the subject. More than 350 detailed articles provide historical and current information on everything from bonding to environment; from keeping pets to hoarding animals; from animals in literature, movies, and cartoons to elephants and cows in India and dolphins in Japan….International in scope and unique in coverage, the typically long pieces present a broad view of animal treatment in many cultures and countries, both historical and current….This source is recommended for high school and college libraries as this material is rarely found elsewhere.
This ground-breaking guide explores the nature of human-animal relationships….With discussions of 55 types of animals, this guide is not intended as exhaustive survey of the history of the relationships of animals and humans. Instead, the intention is more to introduce the range of issues involved. To this end, the editor has excelled at matching contributors to topics in which their research or careers have been actively involved. Thus, Terry Root writes on the effects of global warming on animal behavior. Biologist and animal conservationist, Christopher Papouchis, discusses mountain lions. When discussing bonding, Jane Goodall describes how her relationship to a neighborhood dog helped her defy the scientific conventions of her time and document animal emotions and personalities. The provocative essays of this encyclopedia should command an interested audience from high school to adult, but are especially recommended for academic libraries.
Although the literature on human-animal relations is enormous, it is very surprising that this work appears to be the first English-language encyclopedia solely devoted to this rich topic…..Bekoff….should be commended for including such important but not easy-to-locate topics as metaphors about animals and a listing of specific health benefits resulting from human contact with animals….This encyclopedia is an outstanding ready reference and also first-stop reference source for students, researchers, and general readers. Highly recommended for academic and large public libraries.
With 349 essays by world authorities, this work is a major work by any standards. Despite its complex organisation, the Encyclopedia of Human-Animal Relationships will be a useful resource for libraries that support animal-related and, indeed, human-related studies. It should be a quarry for animal-related articles for many years to come.
This set is no limited regional offering but assumes a global perspective in surveying human connections with animals, with sections offering topics as diverse as analysis of animal assistance to humans to issues of ethics, animal treatment and welfare, and habitat challenges around the world. Both wild and domesticated animals are presented, with numerous sidebars of information, charts, and bibliographic references providing information key to any college-level collection strong in animal welfare, ecology and natural history, or veterinary management. The subject matter and scope are unparalleled.
