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In the Company of Animals: A Study of Human-Animal Relationships |  | Author: James Serpell
Publisher: Cambridge University Press (Canto)
Category: Book
List Price: $29.99
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Rating:  7 reviews
Sales Rank: 176828
Media: Paperback
Edition: Rev Sub
Pages: 316
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.9
ISBN: 0521577799
Dewey Decimal Number: 304.27
EAN: 9780521577793
ASIN: 0521577799
Publication Date: August 13, 1996
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
In the Company of Animals is an original and very readable study of human attitudes to the natural world. It contrasts the way we love some animals while ruthlessly exploiting others; it provides a detailed and fascinating account of ways in which animal companionship can influence our health; and it provides a key to understanding the moral contradictions inherent in our treatment of animals and nature. Its scope encompasses history, anthropology, and animal and human psychology. Along the way, the author uncovers a fascinating trail of insights and myths about our relationship with the species with which we share the planet. James Serpell is the editor of The Domestic Dog: Its Evolution, Behavior and Interactions With People (CUP, 1995).
Book Description
Contrasting the way we love some animals while ruthlessly exploiting others, this study provides a detailed and fascinating account of the ways in which animal companionship can influence our health. It provides a key to the moral contradiction inherent in our treatment of animals and nature.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 7
 A scholarly page-turner March 18, 2009
oldetimeybookworm
I loved this book. I have read other sources of information on anthrozoology, but none were nearly as comprehensive, well-researched, and well-written as Serpell's work. This book has it all. It presents a fairly complete history of human-animal relationships throughout the western world. It also uses scientific research to assess the human-animal bond, and is peppered with many fascinating anecdotes and examples. With all these elements combined, it becomes a real page-turner. Great for anyone, whether you are looking for an introduction to anthrozoology, or you are just looking for a good book to read with your dog or cat on your lap.
A+
A classic October 18, 2008
English abroad (Philadelphia)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book was first published in 1986. It is a classic in the field of the study of human animal interactions. If you are interested in this subject you HAVE to read this book. The book reflects a totally novel approach to our understanding of human animal relationships. If you care about animals and the environment this is a book for you. You'll never think about pork or pets the same way again.
The best introduction to human-animal studies August 25, 2003
Harold Herzog (Cullowhee, NC)
16 out of 16 found this review helpful
In the Company of Animals is the single best introduction to anthrozoology - the study of human-animal interactions. A woman once told me about her experience reading it. She said simply, "That book changed my life." Serpell is a both a powerful writer and a leading scholar in this field. The first half of In the Company of Animals is largely concerned with the who, what, and why of maintaining non-human animals as companions. In the breadth of his coverage, Serpell displays an impressive command of psychology, ethology, history, cultural anthropology, and behavioral medicine. A brief sampling of a few representative topics illustrates the span of Serpell's intellectual vision: the role of pets in sixteenth century witchcraft, the effects of watching aquarium fish on blood pressure, bestiality, social parasitism, and why dogs rather than pigs became companion animals. Serpell argues that individuals who keep pets have often been viewed with scorn, suspicion, and pity. At times, pet owners have been subjected to persecution and even death. Thus, this part of the book is essentially a defense of companion animals. Serpell reviews recent studies documenting the benefits of pets to human health, psychological well-being, and the amelioration of loneliness. He concludes that the company of animals serves to buffer their owners from the interpersonal isolation all too common in modern industrial societies.
The second half of In the Company of Animals focuses on the darker side of human-animal interactions. Serpell is particularly adept at describing paradoxes inherent if our interactions with other species. Among my favorites are the dual roles of puppies in Southeast Asian households (pets and dinner), Adolf Hitler's commitment to animal welfare, and the love people have for dogs coupled with an equally passionate loathing for their immediate progenitor, the wolf. Serpell, however, goes further than listing the foibles that characterize human-animal relationships. He develops an explanation, suggesting that these paradoxes ultimately reflect the evolutionary processes which have shaped the human mind.
Serpell believes that moral conflict that emerges in our relationships with animals stems from a tendency we inherited from our hunter-gatherer forbearers -- the penchant for meat. By nature we are exploiters of animals. But unlike tigers and wolves and boa constrictors, we are carnivores with a sense of guilt. As a result we have developed psychological mechanisms that allow us to maintain the "myth of human supremacy." He believes this is an illusion which developed as cultures shifted from hunter-gatherer economies to those based on the slaughter of domestic animals. This hypothesis provides a powerful perspective on the contradictions seen in human-animal relationships.
While readers may not agree with all of Serpell's ideas, they will find that In the Company of Animals is a beautifully written book that is rich in both facts and provocative ideas. It will appeal to both animal lovers and the scholars who study them.
The best introduction to human-animal studies August 20, 2003
Harold Herzog (Cullowhee, NC)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
In the Company of Animals is the single best introduction to anthrozoology - the study of human-animal interactions. A woman once told me about her experience on reading it. She said simply, "That book changed my life." Serpell is a both a powerful writer and a leading scholar in this field. The first half of In the Company of Animals is largely concerned with the who, what, and why of maintaining non-human animals as companions. In the breadth of his coverage, Serpell displays an impressive command of psychology, ethology, history, cultural anthropology, and behavioral medicine. A brief sampling of a few representative topics illustrates the span of Serpell's intellectual vision: the role of pets in sixteenth century witchcraft, the effects of watching aquarium fish on blood pressure, bestiality, social parasitism, and why dogs rather than pigs became companion animals. Serpell argues that individuals who keep pets have often been viewed with scorn, suspicion, and pity. At times, pet owners have been subjected to persecution and even death. Thus, this part of the book is essentially a defense of companion animals. Serpell reviews recent studies documenting the benefits of pets to human health, psychological well-being, and the amelioration of loneliness. He concludes that the company of animals serves to buffer their owners from the interpersonal isolation all too common in modern industrial societies.
The second half of In the Company of Animals focuses on the darker side of human-animal interactions. Serpell is particularly adept at describing paradoxes inherent if our interactions with other species. Among my favorites are the dual roles of puppies in Southeast Asian households (pets and dinner), Adolf Hitler's commitment to animal welfare, and the love people have for dogs coupled with an equally passionate loathing for their immediate progenitor, the wolf. Serpell, however, goes further than listing the foibles that characterize human-animal relationships. He develops an explanation, suggesting that these paradoxes ultimately reflect the evolutionary processes which have shaped the human mind.
Serpell believes that moral conflict that emerges in our relationships with animals stems from a tendency we inherited from our hunter-gatherer forbearers -- the penchant for meat. By nature we are exploiters of animals. But unlike tigers and wolves and boa constrictors, we are carnivores with a sense of guilt. As a result we have developed psychological mechanisms that allow us to maintain the "myth of human supremacy." He believes this is an illusion which developed as cultures shifted from hunter-gatherer economies to those based on the slaughter of domestic animals. This hypothesis provides a powerful perspective on the contradictions seen in human-animal relationships.
While readers may not agree with all of Serpell's ideas, they will find that In the Company of Animals is a beautifully written book that is rich in both facts and provocative ideas. It will appeal to both animal lovers and the scholars who study them.
A Classic by a Highly Esteemed Scholar April 1, 2003
Patricia Anderson (Macomb, IL United States)
9 out of 10 found this review helpful
As a professor of anthropology who teaches a course on Anthrozoology at Western Illinois University, I highly recommend In the Company of Animals. Anthrozoology (the scientific study of human-animal interaction) is a dynamic new area of study and Dr Serpell is one of the founders. This book is required reading for my course, and students love it! Serpell's work explores the phenomena of domestication and pet keeping, or companion animals (as we prefer to call them now), from a cross-cultural and evolutionary perspective that is highly anthropological. Shame on us! An Anthropologist should have written this book! I highly recommend this work.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 7
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