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The Animal's Companion: People & Their Pets, a 26,000-Year Love Story Audiobook
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A New York Times bestselling author's compelling portrait of the universal human need for animal companions -- from dogs and cats to horses, birds, house-rabbits, and even exotica such as lizards and snakes.In The Animal's Companion, the acclaimed author of Red: A History of the Redhead, Jacky Colliss Harvey turns her keen eye for cultural investigation and her remarkable story-telling skills to a pet project: the history of animals as our companions in every-day life. It's a history that dates back as far as 26,000 years ago to a cave in France where anthropologists have since discovered evidence of a boy and his dog taking a walk together. From this point forward Colliss Harvey takes us on a sweeping journey through centuries and across continents to examine how our relationships with our pets have developed, but also stayed very much the same. Along the way she shares delightful stories of the most famous, endearing, and sometimes eccentric pet owners throughout history.
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"[A]...lively exploration of people and their pets... Numerous colourful animal tales enliven Colliss Harvey's latest book, but her real subject is their human companions, whom she considers through a lens of history, literature and art, as well as smatterings of science and psychology, all interwoven with diverting personal reminiscences... Colliss Harvey has an eye for surprising details and a lovely way with a description."
— The Sunday Times
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When you read a book by Jacky Colliss Harvey, you learn a lot. And with the way she writes, deeply researched and with wit and erudition, you also have fun as you learn.—Veteranscribes
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[Jacky Colliss Harvey] writes, with affection and wit, of man and beast's enduring relationship, focusing on all aspects of our bond - from choosing to losing - and has great stories about notable people and their animal companions.
— Toronto Star -
[Jacky Colliss Harvey]'s beautifully illustrated book is organized thematically and is perhaps best thought of as a series of essays on the various themes that the relationship between kept animals and humans throw up, such as choosing, naming, communication, and losing. However, for all its research into deeper matters, the real pleasure of The Animal's Companion lies in its stories. And they come thick and fast.
— The Spectator -
A well-researched, deeply crafted, wry and witty compendium on the importance of pets in our lives.... Our species' fondness for pets seems to be the one clear distinction we can claim as our own -- indeed, a case can be made for pets making us human. We urge you to read (or listen to) The Animal's Companion. You will come away as enthralled and entertained as we were.
— Bark.com
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About Jacky Colliss Harvey
Jacky Colliss Harvey is a writer and editor. She studied English at Cambridge University and art history at the Courtauld Institute. She has worked in museum publishing for the past twenty years and is a commentator and reviewer who speaks in both the UK and abroad on the arts and their relation to popular culture. Her red hair has also found her an alternative career as a life model and a film extra playing everything from a society lady in Atonement to a Parisian whore in Bel-Ami. She lives in London.
About Nicola Barber
Nicola Barber, is an Audie Award and Earphones Award-winning narrator whose voice can be heard in television and radio commercials and popular video games such as World of Warcraft. She is also an Audie finalist in the prestigious category of solo female narrationfor her work on Murphy’s Law by Rhys Bowen and Call the Midwife by Jennifer Worth. She has performed on the stage in New York City and at a number of top regional theaters in the United States. Her film and television roles include The Nanny Diaries with Scarlett Johansson, and Law & Order’s 2009 season premiere. Originally from England, she currently resides in New York, a multicultural background that enables her to bring a broad range of accents and characterizations to her role as a full-time voice-over actor.