"[Bradshaw] brings a light touch and endearing personal details to what is actually a systematic and detailed account of the origin and nature of human-animal interaction and emotional bonding." —Financial Times
"Backed up by impeccable research...[an] excellent book.... Bradshaw provides a convincing case that our fascination with the interior lives of animals was an essential part of our evolutionary development." —The New Statesman
"If you're comfortable with your own animality, The Animals Among Us can be your bestiary and breviary. I found Bradshaw's arguments about the domestication of animals and the origins of pet-keeping perfectly convincing; and his conclusion—that we have now co-evolved long enough with dogs, and to some extent with cats, for it to constitute an effective symbiosis —rather comforting." —Guardian, Book of the Day
The bestselling author of Dog Sense and Cat Sense explains why living with animals has always been a fundamental aspect of being human
In this highly original and hugely enjoyable work, John Bradshaw examines modern humans' often contradictory relationship with the animal world. Why, despite the apparent irrationality of keeping pets, do half of today's American households, and almost that figure in the UK, have at least one pet (triple the rate of the 1970s)? Then again, why do we care for some animals in our homes, and designate others only as a source of food?
Through these and many other questions, one of the world's foremost anthrozoology experts shows that our relationship with animals is nothing less than an intrinsic part of human nature. An affinity for animals drove our evolution and now, without animals around us, we risk losing an essential part of ourselves.
