Dancing Star Foundation - Environmental Education - Recent Books

Michael Thomas, an anthropologist and novelist:
"Don't Miss This Book! There are many great things about the book. The images – photos and artwork – are outstanding. There are lots of surprising facts about donkeys, mules and the history of civilization. There is beautiful writing – weaving between the personal and the universal. There is rigorous, careful scholarship, a treasure trove of careful citations to explore. The book has a majestic sweep and keen attention to detail and accuracy. Anyone of these aspects of the book would make it worth the modest price. But the truly wonderful thing about this book and the beast it describes, is that it makes you think. The book nudges the reader into unanticipated realms of philosophical reflection. It is deep and rich and wise, but like the burro, humble, sensually centered and honest. You are, for example, reading along –facts about donkeys – and then, all of a sudden, you get something like this: 'What do we really know about animals? What can we say with accuracy about ourselves?' Chew on that a while! The book has dozens of such moments, opportunities to step out of the crazy, violent, acquisitive struggles of our historical moment to consider some fundamentals of the mammalian and human condition. It's a great book about a great animal and our connection to the animal world. I own two burros and have long looked to them for counsel. This book is utterly accurate in its portrayal of the species. It's affectionate and respectful, happily missing the kitsch and anthropomorphism that most writers bring to books about their favorite animals. Don't miss it."

Jonathan Spaulding, Ph.D., Executive Director, Museum Of The American West, Autry National Center; author of Ansel Adams and the American Landscape:
"Humble, tough, gentle, and wise, donkeys have a lot to teach their old companions, the humans. In a book as solid and deep as the species it describes, Michael Tobias and Jane
Morrison have given us an allegory for our survival."

Dr. Marc Bekoff, Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado; author of Minding Animals; Animal Passions and Beastly Virtues; The Emotional Lives of Animals, and editor of the Encyclopedia of Animal Behavior:
"Donkey is a GREAT book, a wonderful, delightful and fun read. With its provocative text and beautiful photographs, it conveys the enormous role in social and cultural history donkeys have played. Tobias and Morrison eloquently reveal how vulnerable, innocent, complex and compassionate these amazing beings are. I predict that donkeyphilia – the love of donkeys – is now safely here to stay as more and more people become acquainted with the rich lives of these remarkable equines. In fact, the next time somebody tells me I'm 'behaving like an ass' I plan to smile, wink, shrug my shoulders, and then confidently say, 'Thank you!'"