BEING WITH ANIMALS

Why We Are Obsessed with the Furry, Scaly, Feathered Creatures Who Populate Our World

 BARBARA J. KING

“Being with Animals is a remarkable work, and the deconstruction of ‘man the hunter’ alone is worth the price of the book! . . .The author has amassed and digested an enormous range of literature, and has a special take on just about everything involving animals and spirituality. It was fascinating reading.” —JEFFREY MOUSSAIEFF MASSON, author of When Elephants Weep and The Face on Your Plate

 “Being with Animals discusses the significance of human-animal bonds that cross spans of time, culture, gender, and age. It is a must-read as we head into the century of the animal. Read it carefully, share it widely, and celebrate the fact that we ourselves are animals.” —MARC BEKOFF, University of Colorado, author of The Emotional Lives of Animals and Wild Justice

What do Mickey Mouse, a leopard-skin pillbox hat, Marley & Me, and the Aflac duck have in common? They all represent human beings’ deeply ingrained connection to the animal kingdom. In BEING WITH ANIMALS: Why We Are Obsessed with the Furry, Scaly, Feathered Creatures Who Populate Our World (Doubleday Religion; January 26, 2010; Hardcover), Barbara J. King, Chancellor Professor of Anthropology at the College of William and Mary, unravels the complexity and enormous significance of this relationship. 

We surround ourselves with animals, and yet rarely do we truly stop to think about the pull they have on us. Animals have dominated our lives for tens of thousands of years and continue to rule our existence, but why? Why do people the world over respond to a cartoon mouse named Mickey? Why do sports teams name themselves the Bears and the Eagles? Why does the pet industry thrive even in difficult economic times? Why are we compelled to share our lives with cats, dogs, fish, snakes, turtles, or any other kind of domesticated creature?

In BEING WITH ANIMALS, King offers answers to these questions and more. She looks at this phenomenon, from the most obvious animal connections in daily life and culture and over the whole of human history, to show the various roles animals have played in all civilizations. She digs deeply into the importance of the human-animal bond as key to our evolution, as a significant aspect of understanding what truly makes us human, and looks ahead to explore how our further technological development may affect these important ties.

Animals are enduring objects of fascination for people, and King’s fresh look at the human-animal relationship will resonate deeply with animal lovers, the environmentally minded, and the armchair scientist.

About the Author

BARBARA J. KING is a biological anthropologist and Chancellor Professor of Anthropology at the College of William and Mary. She has studied monkeys in Kenya and great apes in various captive settings. She writes essays on anthropology-related themes for bookslut.com and the Times Literary Supplement (London). Together with her husband, she cares for and arranges to spay and neuter homeless cats in Virginia. Her previous books include Evolving God and The Dynamic Dance.

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BEING WITH ANIMALS

Why We Are Obsessed with the Furry, Scaly, Feathered Creatures Who Populate Our World

By Barbara J. King

Published by Doubleday Religion

An Imprint of Crown Publishing Group

A Division of Random House, Inc.

Publication Date: January 26, 2010

Hardcover, $24.99, 272 pages

ISBN : 978-0-385-52363-9 

For more information or to set up your interview with Barbara J. King, please contact Ellen Folan at 212-782-8944 or efolan@randomhouse.com. 

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