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Title: Build Me an Ark: A Life with Animals by Brenda Peterson ISBN: 0-393-05014-9 Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company Pub. Date: January, 2001 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $25.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.5 (6 reviews)
Rating: 3
Summary: Worth reading, but leaves room for improvement.
Comment: This book contains a series of vignettes that form author Brenda Peterson's memoir. She takes us from her early childhood to present day through stories of her interactions with animals, beginning with her father's hunting trophies - her first animal "companions," and ending with the story of a sea lion that visited her beachfront property the day before she finished writing the book. Intermediate topics include Smokey the Bear, wild wolves, her pet dogs and cats, both captive and wild whales, her struggle to reconcile the world of animals and religion, and others.
The first third of the book turned me off a little. The stories of her childhood seem overly embellished with an abundance of flowery adjectives that strain the writing. These early stories don't have the same impact as the vignettes describing Peterson's experiences as an adult. The stories from her adulthood show more understanding of the world and are easier to relate to. My two favorites where the tale of a captive beluga female who exhibited profound mourning behavior after the death of her newborn calf, and the painful account of the effects of Navy sonar experiments on wild whales. The latter of these was quite heart-wrenching.
The book is dragged down, however, by poor editting. In addition to the superflous writing style that permeates the first several chapters, the entire work is riddled with typos (i.e. "Alaksa") and spelling errors (i.e. "decibals"). There are also a few punctuations errors. In addition, Peterson displays a lack of scientific background. She is a journalist, not a biologist. While she refers to the work of biologist acquaintances and is by no means ignorant, the impact of her writing would be enhanced if she herself had a more thorough scientific understanding.
On the whole, however, this memoir is worth reading, though I'd recommend borrowing it from the library or a friend that already has it rather than purchasing it for yourself. It does bring awareness to some critical environmental issues - aerial wolf killings, the detrimental effects of pollution and sonar testing on marine animals, the general public's misconceptions about certain wild species, etc. Hopefully it will inspire readers to do further research on these subjects for themselves and make them more conscious of the effects human lifestyles have on the environment.
Rating: 5
Summary: Fascinating Life Between the Worlds of Animals and Humans
Comment: When you read Brenda Peterson's memoir or any of her books, be prepared to abandon your human assumptions and pre-conceived notions of how animals and the natural world "really are." If you are willing, Peterson will lead you down long forgotten paths that still connect the human and the natural worlds. Through her own stories, you will re-member and discover your own life stories with animals, both wild and domesticated, and the essential joy of a shared world.
This memoir is a pleasure to read, written by an informed nature writer who also knows how to write engaging, lyrical prose that often reads like poetry or a novel. Peterson also is a witty observer of life's ironies and odd, often contradictory human behavior. Rare is the nature writer who can skillfully weave together the talent of a seasoned storyteller, the reportage of an informed environmentalist, the visionary perspective of a literary writer, and the honesty to admit passionate feelings for animals. Brenda Peterson does all of this consistently.
In her memoir, Peterson admits, "My first people and family were animals," and then tells us numerous stories from the first 50 years of her life living "in between the worlds of animals and humans." There were times while reading this book when I would have to pause, put the book down, and simply savor the story at hand. I could easily spend days reflecting on a story, digesting its impact, feeling full and satisfied. Warning: This is rich, gourmet reading!
Peterson also tells of the many disillusionments and the grief she has had over how humans treat animals. In particular, she writes about Smokey the Bear, Peterson's childhood animal hero and an American icon dubbed the Protector of the Forest, who, in reality was a depressed and isolated bear living in Washington National Zoo. When Peterson was 13, she and her father, a Forest Service executive who would one day head up the National Forest Service, visited Smokey the Bear at the zoo. "Any child could see that it was this bear who himself needed protection," observed Peterson. "...we stood watching Smokey huddled in a corner, eyes lowered, turning away Goldie Bear [a potential mate]...."
Every chapter reveals a life with animals, whether they are animal companions or whales, wolves and bears. Peterson writes with emotional honesty that is refreshing. It is Peterson's willingness to talk about her own feelings in relationship to the natural world that makes her so appealing as a nature writer. She is not afraid to admit such things as emotions...a courageous act in a modern world filled with scientists and "objective writers" who purport to be beyond such sentimental or "anthropomorphic" notions. In truth, ancient peoples worldwide have always known that animals have spirits and feelings and an integral purpose on Earth beyond serving human needs. There was a time when humans respected and blessed and thanked the animals for their partnership---even when they became our food and clothing. Sadly, most humans have bought the civilized lies about the "wild and nature and animals," and dismiss any serious discussion of spiritual connections and animal families and animal cultures. "Unscientific," declare the naysayers and skeptics.
However, Brenda Peterson is a contemporary nature writer who remembers many of those ancient ties and truths about animals and the natural world, and unabashedly writes about them. I do believe that Peterson is on the cutting edge of the paradigm shift in which humans will once again acknowledge and accept that we are in partnership with animals and the natural world---NOT in dominion over.
This memoir helped me remember and gives me hope. I am grateful to Brenda Peterson for writing it!
Rating: 4
Summary: a good read which lacks accuracy
Comment: Although I did enjoy this book, little niggling errors cropped up here and there to irk. Poor editing (numerous misspellings) and bad information here and there result in a 4 star rating rather than a 5. For example, the author 'tried out' Siberian Huskies at one point and even produced a mixed breed litter (gasp), but some of her assumptions were patently untrue. For example, the author claims that "Siberian huskies (sic) were the last canine breed to be domesticated". In fact, the Siberian Husky originated over 2000 years ago with the Siberian Chukchi tribe (see Demidoff/Jennings "The Complete Siberian Husky"). The author dabbles in various wild critter commitments:Tursiops in Florida, belugas in Tacoma and eastern Canada, wolves across the US, humpback whales and spinner dolphins in Hawaii but I kept wondering how much more she could have understood if she had taken the path of biology rather than journalism. She claims to have taken up the mantle of wild critter advocacy but to be honest, I think she falls into the category of 'talk is cheap'-type advocacy. But then, we have real biologists like Ken Balcomb to fight against Navy sonar experiments etc. All in all, an interesting read....but remember the salt shaker (take with a grain of salt).
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Title: Between Species: Celebrating the Dolphin-Human Bond by Toni Frohoff, Brenda Peterson ISBN: 1578050707 Publisher: Sierra Club Books Pub. Date: 01 May, 2003 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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Title: Nop's Trials by Donald McCaig ISBN: 1558211853 Publisher: The Lyons Press Pub. Date: 01 August, 1992 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
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Title: Singing to the Sound: Visions of Nature, Animals, and Spirit by Brenda Peterson ISBN: 0939165414 Publisher: NewSage Press Pub. Date: 09 September, 2001 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
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Title: When Elephants Weep: The Emotional Lives of Animals by Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson, Susan McCarthy ISBN: 0385314280 Publisher: Delta Pub. Date: 01 May, 1996 List Price(USD): $15.95 |
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Title: The Great Ape Project: Equality Beyond Humanity by Paola Cavalieri, Peter Singer ISBN: 031211818X Publisher: St. Martin's Press Pub. Date: 01 January, 1995 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
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