Speaking of Animals

Caesar (American literature, Mukogawa U.; English, Clarion U.) provides a linked series of 13 wide-ranging essays that are at times light and on other occasions very serious, but at all times very personal. The author writes of the heart-rending experience he and his wife endured while deciding to have a dog castrated and his inability to kill a raccoon. He also writes of his observations of animals in Spain, reading about the training of big cats, and watching Animal Planet. Even his critical essays of movies and books carry an immediate, intimate quality as he provides an implicit critique and discussions of recent trends in animal studies. The concept of the book works very well, and the research and writing are of high quality. The book will interest anyone from writers to animal lovers. Annotation c2009 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Terry Caesar, Ph.D. (1978), has been Professor of American Literature at Mukogawa University as well as Professor of English at Clarion University. He has published seven books (three co-edited with Eva Bueno) on the politics of American and Japanese higher education as well as Latin American popular culture and American travel writing.