On Animals
Susan Orlean is a gifted and well-read writer. I enjoyed reading The Library Book and therefore approached On Animals with eager anticipation. Less than a quarter of the way through it, my eager anticipation changed...
Please see the below book and film reviews from past editions of the AWI Quarterly.
All Creatures Safe and Sound
In 2005, hundreds of thousands of companion animals died or were left homeless by Hurricane Katrina. Pictures of abandoned pets taking refuge on the roofs of cars and houses flooded the media. This tragedy highlighted...
Eloquence of the Sardine
Eloquence of the Sardine: Extraordinary Encounters Beneath the Sea by Bill François, a French physicist and naturalist, is full of fascinating and thought-provoking information about life beneath the waves. Through science and storytelling, François explores...
Beloved Beasts
Beloved Beasts: Fighting for Life in an Age of Extinction, by Michelle Nijhuis, is a cross between a Ken Burns–style historical documentary and the 2016 film Hidden Figures, bringing to life the history of key...
When Animals Rescue
More and more, advances in animal cognition research are changing the ways in which people perceive animals. Belinda Recio’s latest book, When Animals Rescue: Amazing True Stories about Heroic and Helpful Creatures, powerfully contributes to...
A Most Remarkable Creature
There are only nine known species of caracaras. And though their populations are small and confined, they “refuse to behave like a species on the verge of extinction.” What seems like the most important idea...
A Shape in the Dark
From Lewis and Clark shooting the first ones they encountered, to sport hunters today killing hundreds in Alaska each year, humans have long persecuted North America’s brown (a.k.a. grizzly) bears. The bears, often acting in...
Animals’ Best Friends
Animals’ Best Friends: Putting Compassion to Work for Animals in Captivity and in the Wild, by Barbara King, uses the power of storytelling to allow readers to peer into the lives of countless animals humans...
Saving America’s Amazon
Alabama is known for many things, including beautiful Gulf Coast beaches, the US Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, steel, peanuts, the music of Muscle Shoals, and college football. It is also home to one...
Celebrating Birds
If you have been searching for an engaging new hobby to help you recover from the COVID-19 doldrums, Celebrating Birds: An Interactive Field Guide Featuring Art from Wingspan is an ideal entry point into the...