Animals in Translation

I almost always finish books I start. The first book I never finished was Penrod by Booth Tarkington. And I have bookmarks still stuck in the early parts of Moby Dick and Don Quixote. I have concluded that, in general, the likelihood that I will complete a book is proportional to the rate at which I read it. Further evidence, at the other end of the spectrum, would be The Girl Who Played with Fire.

But now I have to reconsider this theory, based on a most unusual experience with Temple Grandin's Animals in Translation. I heard about the very interesting Temple Grandin on a flight to Portland, from a woman who ran a ranch for abandoned or abused horses. Temple Grandin is both extremely intelligent and autistic, and uses these traits to make amazing observations about how animals (and humans) think. She is particularly famous for having devised both mechanisms and evaluation schemes designed to make slaughterhouses more humane. She's so remarkable that she was the subject of a semi-biographical HBO movie.

Well, I thought Animals in Translation was fascinating, but I could not read more than 10 pages or so at a time, so it took me forever to get through. It's still not clear to me exactly why I could only read so little at a time - the writing is simple and clear. Partly I think it's because the book seemed a little disorganized to me.

But Temple Grandin discusses a lot of contemporary neuroscience research that is extremely interesting, and she has unusual ideas and insights. Just as one example, she cites evidence that wolves (and their descendants, dogs) co-evolved with humans, in very meaningful ways. "Basically, two different species with complementary skills teamed up together". She strongly believes, and cites some supporting evidence, that humans also picked up many "human" traits from wolves, including hunting in groups, complex social structures, loyal same-sex and nonkin friendships, and more. I'm only hinting at the thoughtful and sometimes provocative views she expresses here and in other parts of the book. Very highly recommended!

The Zookeeper's Wife

I just finished reading The Zookeeper's Wife, by Diane Ackerman, for this season's kickoff meeting of my local Book Club. This was a very affecting read for me. It is an engaging account of the events of World War II in Warsaw from the perspective of a strong, non-Jewish, Polish woman named Antonina Zabinski. It is a true story, developed from her writings and those of her husband, from diaries of the Jews who she "saved", and other historical accounts. Antonina's life as the wife of the keeper of the Warsaw Zoo was extremely colorful; there was much humor in the behavior of the animals, especially those she reared in her house. She seemed to have special gifts in communicating not only with the animals, but with people too. This quality really helped her defuse the dangerous situations that developed because she kept Jews hidden in her villa. I particularly admired her ability to communicate calm in the face of terror and to both take and give any joy that could be found in the day. This book also appealed to me for a couple of other reasons. Clearly, the author is fond of word origins and I enjoyed the explanation of a number of expressions, such as "screaming meemees" and "Molotov cocktails", that arose during wars. Also, the author uses a number of Polish words that I used to hear at home, so seeing them brought connection and comfort. Additionally, the description of attempts to resurrect extinct tarpans, aurochsen, and European bison, by back-breeding, appealed to the scientist in me. Finally, to know the story of World War II is to be sickened by the relentless suffering of so many, but I knew too little of the events in Poland and the story was so engagingly told that I learned a great deal. It's a great read.

SCAT

In the days leading out of the Ohio JO Champs, I have read SCAT by Carl Hiaasen. I found this to be a very good book and had the urge to flatly refuse putting it down to do jobs. The narration (Third person) switches around between characters which helps drive the book forward and keeps you reading. SCAT is the third novel in a series of books set in Florida about preserving wildlife. This book deals with a mix of plots and goals including: Returning a baby panther to its mother, successfully and secretly drilling oil on state property, learning to live left handed, finding a missing teacher, and escaping from jail when framed. There is so much going on that this becomes a very interesting and worthwhile read. I highly recommend it.