Service Animals Books

it's what I needed for theRespiratory program that I'm in. Shipment was fast. I'm very pleased

This is a very good book for RT students. I like its organization and presentation. It is by far the best book available for basic pharmacology in terms of coverage and readability. I agree with another reviewer in that the students are actually reading the chapters on their own. The review questions in the book are nice but missing the answer key (at least for the instructors). The online review questions are mostly recall. I hope in the next edition, more application and clinical questions would be developed for the book and online review. Instead of references within the text, it uses a bibliography format at the end of the book. However, this is more than adequate for an introductory course. Finally, I know it can be "painful" to switch textbooks but this new book is definitely worthy of your time and effort. If you supplement the book with other resources available (printed or web-based), it can be as complete as any other pharmacology books currently available.

Good for respiratory therapy students- not useful for students in pharmacy or medicine. Too many incorrect statements and important omissions. Very superficial coverage of non-pulmonary topics.

I think Colbert and Mason have done a great job with a text that is typically student "unfriendly". I am using it for the first time with a class and students are actually reading the chapters! Other text lose students with terminology and tend to get bogged down in the biochemistry of pharmacolgy losing site of when and how the drugs should be used. The students love the web site and use it to further challenge themselves.

I wish I had this book when I first eliminated meat from my diet - it would have saved me a LOT of grief and prevented some pretty bad dietary habits. It gives a unique and well-grounded approach to becoming a vegetarian or shaping up your diet if you're already vegetarian. It does say that eating dairy can be helpful, which there is some controversy on, but even many experts who are anti-dairy object to milk products mainly because they are packed with hormones, pasteurized, and homogenized. When dairy is pure, organic, and fresh it's a good source of nutrition when used properly and in moderation. Also, the book says you should eat dairy OR fish as a supplement to a vegan diet, which makes sense when you look at the traditional diets of native cultures around the world - I don't know of any that are purely vegan. Rudolph Ballentine seems to be a very wise author with a lot of grounded perspective on holistic nutrition.

In Transition To Vegetarianism: An Evolutionary Step, Doctor Rudolpf Ballentine presents an informed and persuasive survey of the value and reasoning to a vegetarian diet. Dr. Ballentine's informative text is laced with health relevant information such as meat-eaters having three times as many heart attacks as vegetarians, that a vegetarian diet decreases osteoporosis dramatically, that in endurance tests vegetarians had more than twice the stamina and strength of meat-eaters, and that the vegetarian diet is a time-honored technique for promoting alertness and clarity of consciousness. Ideal for the non-specialist general reader, Transition To Vegetarianism covers red meat, poultry, fish, and the question of milk and eggs in a vegetarian diet. If you are considering the pros and cons of a vegetarian diet for yourself, begin with reading Dr. Rudolf Ballentine's Transition To Vegetarianism.

Most people can't stop eating meat one day and put a red "X" on the plate instead. Unless you live in a culture like India, or eat lots of beans and rice, it takes a bit of adjustment to move to a plant-based diet.

When newly minted militant vegetarian friends reject the idea of starting out by simply eating less meat, this book is the place to turn for support. After twenty years of shepherding people toward a more vegetarian diet, I've seen definite trends that emerge when giving up meat: persistent cheese-eating, a plethora of omelet dishes, a sudden craving for peanut butter, etc. This guide gives sound practical explanations about why these cravings happen; it also gives suggestions for maintaining nutrition without going overboard on fat. Vegans will be unhappy with the assertion that a plant-based diet with some milk products is a typical solution for Americans, but realistically, how many of us are willing to do what it takes to maintain a strictly vegan diet the rest of our lives? And as additional research emerges on fatty acids (such as Omega-3 and Omega-6 oils) there seems to be an increasing number of reasons to consider fish as a practical substitute for supplements like hempseed or flaxseed oil.

Over the years, I've heard countless people wake up to nutrition and tell me they've discovered the "only healthy diet there is." Every one of those diets has been different! Rather than rushing out to try someone else's diet, I'd recommend looking at Dr. Ballentine's set of guidelines first. This is one of the only books on vegetarianism I know that doesn't tell you "here's the best diet." Instead, the author presents the pros and cons of various food options, and gives you a reasonable way to work towards a diet which suits both your body and your life situation.

I bought this book on the recommendation of my homeopath, who had worked under Rudolph Ballentine. I was disappointed. While the nutrition in terms of meat's value and replacement in the diet may be of great help to my sister, who *is* vegetarian, I found the "dairy is good for you" message questionable in terms of my personal experience and in terms of different articles I've read. I'll take a sensible vegan cookbook any day.

I stumbled across this book on a free table somewhere - I am pleased it is still in print - every addict and alcoholic should read it - it speaks to the emotional simplicity that we share - when we wonder why we are the way we are - this littel caterpillar shows us - if you need help explaining to a child why a loved one is deep in his/her addiction or alcoholism - this story does it with love and does not condemn the individual - I cry every time I read it and I shared it at my home group.

I read this book as part of my own recovery in Al-anon. It helped alot because it made some sense of an illogical disease. I think it can be used with children of all ages. It should be read with an adult who can answer questions and offer gentle guidance for those affected by this disease - children - who suffer just as much by having a family member who drinks.

I read this in my last treatment center, meaning I haven't had a drink since. It takes you into the mind of the alcoholic like no other book Ive ever read has. Great for adults and teens

This book is interesting, yet sometimes abit to general. While Anderson stays down the middle and doesnt blame one side or the other, she often generalizes. She did a wonderful job in making a distinction between N.E. and Chesapeake Bay, but does not clearly define which tribes she is talking about and gives the reader the assumption that all tribes reacted in similar ways. As a graduate student of history I believe this book has its purpose, but over generalizing is often dangerous. Overall it is a good book, well writte, and if you are curious as to what sorts of changes livestock had on America--this book is for you.


I have one suggestion.

Becareful not to take the idea to literally that livestock caused wars. Anderson fails to show how numerous things resulted in Indian resistance. Another book that complements this one is "Changes in the Land" Cronon. This book gives an ecological argument to support the livestock problem. Also, Facing East by D. Richter illustrates some economic, political, and military problems in the new world. However, if you read Richter, read it carefully--much is based on imagination not sources. With that said, Richters discussion on politics, military, and economics is very good. These three books give a good backdrop for native resistance.

The nature of the colonial relationships between the European settlers and the Native Americans has been readjusted to include livestock in a central rather than marginal role in the shaping of American history.

Virginia DeJohn Anderson's Creatures of Empire culminates around the way in which the colonial settlers and natives viewed the very nature of animals and therefore the way in which their relative reactions affected their relationships with each other. Anderson seems to say that if Native Americans and settlers were opposing teams in the championship game, then the livestock were as pivotal as the field on which the game was played.
Through her research, Anderson is able to reconstruct accurate tales of interaction between the natives, settlers and their imported livestock, which eventually lead to conflict and European expansion. There are three main purposes of Creatures of Empire that serve to further illuminate colonial history. The first purpose is deducing how natives and settlers view fauna independently of one another. Second, by analyzing the clear difference in point of views, Anderson is able to realize how conflicts arose and were potentially solved between the two parties, because of their interaction with various animals and finally, she is able to reason how these conflicts or resolutions shaped Colonial America and its future.
Virginia DeJohn Anderson received her Ph.D. in History from Harvard University and is currently a Professor of History at the University of Colorado at Boulder as a Colonial and Revolutionary historian. Her previous publications include New England's Generation and co-author of the textbook The American Journey: A History of the United States ([...]).

In Creatures of Empire, Anderson works in the guise of folktales in order to convey her central theme of the importance of livestock in the shaping of native-settler relations, primarily in the New England and Mid-Atlantic regions. Each folktale is explained in a well-written and well-documented light, which makes this book both accessible to Anderson's colleagues and to persons who have no background in either Colonial America or animal husbandry. The retail value of $[...] is a reasonable asking price for this book, particularly since there are only a few, minor illustrations and the bulk of the book is text. Although it is mostly text, Anderson paints a marvelously clear picture of events with her words. This book is a gem that should be examined by those investigating the middle ground between Native Americans and European settlers, or just those who enjoy a fascinating, yet authentic read.

The author makes heavy use of letters and original journals from settlers in the colonial period, such as The Complete Works of Captain John Smith (1580-1631) and The Pynchon Papers, a collection of correspondence between John Pynchon and John Winthrop, Jr., dated mid to late 1600s. With the aid of historical commentary and supplementary scholarship, such as multiple references to Richard White's renowned Middle Ground, as well as data gathered through other channels for example, archaeological, dietary, mortuary, etc., Anderson is able to make well-informed ethnohistorical commentary on the colonial culture, beliefs and values of the natives and settlers. It is through this commentary that she is able to deduce the how and why of the relationships between the two cultures.

Due to this thorough examination of evidence, the conclusions that Anderson draws in this work are highly plausible, especially as she lays the foundation for these conclusions through many points of view. For example, Anderson undoubtedly concludes that native and settlers did not view animals from the same perspective (p. 6). This is widely understood throughout American studies, however Anderson reaches further to deduct why this is true: on the side of the Native Americans, animals had a manitou or guardian spirit and "deserved respect from humans, and could enact revenge if treated inappropriately"(p. 41). Anderson contrasts the European settlers understanding of animals, in order to root causes of conflict: according to "Christian tenets...[which] denied animals any independent spiritual status, and sanctioned human domain over the natural world...animals could be made into private property"(p. 70). Through these facts, Anderson deduces the nature of these conflicts and is able to delve into the psyche of each party.

Though Anderson mentions in the prologue, historian and geographer Alfred Crosby's 1972 work The Columbian Exchange: Biological and Cultural Consequences of 1492, the topic of animals shaping the American society as a whole, is extremely unique and hard to find. This, of course could be due to the fact that, even though Anderson indicates that animals, namely livestock, is mentioned far and wide in colonial records and that animals were a pivotal part of American life. However, Americans have a notion that the masters make the decisions, not the chattel; therefore America favors the accomplishments of great men, rather than their vulnerability in the face of nature. Anderson points out in Creatures of Empire that this is simply not the case. Many conflicts were created due to the fact that colonists could not keep their livestock in check (p. 176 & 189). In comparison to Crosby's work, Anderson, delves more fully into the importance on the imported livestock and its effects on in interpersonal relationships of the colonial populations. Anderson only touches on the seemingly domesticated dogs visible in native villages (p. 34, 35 & 36), however, Jon T. Colman's 2004 book, Vicious: Wolves and Men in America examines this subject more extensively.

Through her work, Anderson has shifted the view of the experience of colonial America away from the quintessential tails of great men and seemingly miraculous battles in order to help the reader see the importance of the rather mundane aspects of colonial life that in essence were the very foundations of American expansion. The true uniqueness and value of Creatures of Empire is that Anderson uses the interaction between settlers and livestock, natives and both fauna and livestock and native and settlers over livestock as a method through which she could delve into the psyche of both native and settlers and explain the motives of both.

Teresa Pangle
September 2006

The underlying premise that Virginia Dejohn Anderson's terrific book makes is that animals have been key driving forces in human history; that argument has been used in other books such as Jeffrey Lockwood's LOCUST: THE DEVASTATING RISE AND MYSTERIOUS DISAPPEARANCE OF THE INSECT THAT SHAPED THE AMERICAN FRONTIER and GRASSHOPPER DREAMING. Ms. Anderson provides an intriguing and entertaining case that farm animals (cattle, pigs, and sheep) are as critical to American History as apple pie, Pilgrims, and Founding Fathers. CREATURES OF THE EMPIRE argues using historical references and interesting anecdotal examples that livestock changed the landscape especially the relationships between people. She concentrates on Colonial America as she makes the point that domestic farm animals in New England and Virginia were key segments of shaping society and led to conflict over land ownership between the settlers and the Indians. Besides making a strong case in support of her theory, Ms. Anderson's book is a well written easy to pick up and put down thought provoking volume that history buffs will appraise and then argue the fascinating premise over the water cooler.

Harriet Klausner

.... definitely take the sites recommended for specific breeds with a few grains of salt - not everyone who advertises themselves as a breeder on the web and uses all the right buzzwords is a responsible, respected breeder.

As both a dog owner and writer, I never knew there were so many varied web sites for research and, even better at times, just for fun. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves and/or writes about dogs.

A truly excellent book that will make browsing for canine sites a pleasure. Highly recommended for any dog lover, whether they are new to the web or an old hat. My thanks to the authors for including many links to the Dogpatch

I BELIEVE MARC BEKOFF DID A SUPERB JOB BRINGING TOGETHER ONLY THOSE TOPICS THAT ULTIMATELY ILLUSTRATED OUR RELATIONSHIPS WITH NON HUMAN ANIMALS. REVIEWER ONE HAS A PROBLEM WITH THE SECTIONS ON ANIMALS AS FOOD. THIS MIGHT BE AN INTERESTING TOPIC FOR DR. BEKOFF'S NEXT ENCYCLOPEDIA, FOR I BELIEVE THE MAN NEVER SLEEPS. BUT THIS WAS NEVER INTENDED TO BE ABOUT EATING ANIMALS. IT WAS SUPPOSED TO COVER A WIDE WIDE VARIETY OF CONNECTIONS TO ANIMALS IN DIFFERENT AREAS, FROM DOMESTIC, TO WILDLIFE. AS ALWAYS, DR. BEKOFF HAS NOTHING TO PROVE, AND IT IS CLEAR HE WANTED THE WORK TO BE ACCESSIBLE TO HIGH SCHOOL AND FRESHMEN STUDENTS. YOU WILL FIND VERY LITTLE JARON HERE. I WISH I WOULD HAVE HAD THIS SET WHEN I WAS IN HIGH SCHOOL. IT IS A HUGE STEP TOWARDS BRINGING THIS IMPORTANT TOPIC TO THOSE IN HIGH SCHOOL WHO NEVER THINK ABOUT SENTIENT BEINGS OTHER THAN THEMSELVES. I BELIEVE EVERY SCHOOL LIBRARY SHOULD HAVE THIS. I CAN ALSO SEE THIS AS A PRIMER FOR THOSE WHO WANT TO GO INTO A CAREER DEALING WITH ANIMAL STUDIES. THERE ARE SO MANY DIFFERENT EXAMPLES OF THOSE WHO WORK WITH ANIMALS, A FANTASTIC RESOURCE!!

The fawning review of this item in Choice makes me wonder if I need to start taking their reviews with a grain of salt. It doesn't look that great to me. It seems very inconsistent and incomplete. For example, the section on animals as food has three articles about eating of dogs and cats in Asia, an article on eating insects, one on bushmeat, and one on veganism. These are a variety of hot-button issues, and probably will be interesting to many people, but it is not the complete overview of the topic of animals as food that I expect from something calling itself an encyclopedia.
A great deal of the information is not completely cited. There are frequent references in the text to works that are not mentioned in the Further Resources sections.
I think this work tries to bite off more than it can chew and ends up with only sporadic coverage of many issues while going off into some very odd areas like superhero animals in the media and animal telepathy.
It's good, but not highly recommended for all levels. I'd recommend it for libraries that are supporting a relevant program, or have a lot of money to blow.

Editor Marc Beckoff is Professor of Biology at the University of Colorado, and has written numerous books on animal rights and welfare. This set is no limited regional offering but assumes a global perspective in surveying human connections with animals, with sections offering topics as diverse as analysis of animal assistance to humans to issues of ethics, animal treatment and welfare, and habitat challenges around the world. Both wild and domesticated animals are presented, with numerous sidebars of information, charts, and bibliographic references providing information key to any college-level collection strong in animal welfare, ecology and natural history, or veterinary management. The subject matter and scope are unparalleled.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

Golly gosh, this was the best book on animals I ever read. I immediately went out and bought a little parrot after reading it, who only says one thing: "I love jesus, I love jesus."

An excellent book covering many aspects of our interaction with non-human animals. Packed with information, interesting examples and a wonderfully useful bibliography, I couldn't put it down. A real shame there's not more books like this, as a student of human-animal interaction I could have done with reading something as comprehensive as this years ago. I particularly liked the application of symbolic interactionist theory to this area of study.

REGARDING ANIMALS, Arnold Arluke and Clinton Sanders, Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1996, 218pp.

Regarding Animals, by Arnold Arluke and Clinton Sanders, explores the special symbiosis that exists between human animals and non-human animals. Theirs is a sociological exploration navigated by their skills in ethnography that ventures them into cultural frontiers seldom seen and therefore left uncharted by sociological experts. For Arluke and Sanders, fieldwork took place wherever human-animal interaction was likely to occur, "the pet store, circus, riding stables, and countless other settings where animals play a part" (p. 19). This interaction united them with "exotic tribes" they identified as "pet owners, veterinarians, animal trainers, slaughterhouse workers, mounted policemen, and any other group that works with or cares for animals..." (p. 19). Arluke and Sanders attempt to record what was happening in these places and to articulate the meanings that animals have for people. Traditional sociological ethnography was the framework utilized for the authors' research. Their job as sociologists was to identify some of the social forces that are behind the inconsistent treatment of animals and to show how they work. Their ultimate goal was to convincingly argue the merits of sociological analysis in popular and scholarly discussions about animals in Western cultures. The purpose of Regarding Animals is to dissect how humans regard animals in modern Western societies.

The book's format divides its discourse into two sections. Part one, "The Human-Animal Tribe," discusses a myriad of issues ranging from studying the social construction of animals to understanding ethnography to recognizing the existence of the non-human animal "mind." Particularly striking was Arluke and Sanders' rhetoric on social constructs. They regard the social construction of animals to be the meanings that animals have for cultures, and, consequently, determine them to be dependent upon the variables of place and time. Then, after a discussion of the criticisms of ethnography, the authors move on to the animal "mind," which can only be described as a modern paradigm drama. Arluke and Sanders testify to the "mind's" existence, and consequently refute conventional positivistic assumptions by reasoning that the animal "mind" is capable of more than just capricious, instinctual thought response.

In the next section, Living with Contradiction, ethnography plays a key role. The authors infiltrate the world of animal shelter workers, animal trainers, primate labs, and the history of Nazi Germany. The chapter entitled The Sociozoologic Scale was particularly compelling. The scale ranks animals "according to how well they seem to `fit in' and play the roles they are expected to play in society" (p. 169). Arluke and Sanders deduce that society constructs good animals and bad animals. They discuss the latter as being characterized as freaks, vermin, and demons. Good animals, characterized as pets and tools, included minority groups that, according to the majority's perspective, seem to accept their subordinate role in society and are patronizingly treated like children. This same society has a tendency to treat pets and children very similarly. Therein, the authors infer that this is the reason why society finds it easy to dehumanize minorities like women, blacks, children, the elderly, and the mentally challenged to the status of animal when using descriptive language about them. The discussion on animals as valued tools was also very compelling. Here they recalled the infamous Tuskegee experiment where more than four hundred blacks were unknowingly infected with syphilis and subjected to forty years of suffering with no treatment. These people were dehumanized to the subhuman level of a tool or guinea pig.

The only fault of Regarding Animals lies in some of the excerpts used from interviews. The responses appear staged. And, although I am convinced that people would feel these things, I only question the lack of vernacular used by those respondents who talk about their pet.

Regarding Animals takes an informative yet critical look at society's relationship with animals. They expose the "constant paradox" (p. 4) defined as the consistent inconsistency of human's emotions toward animals, like advocating the vivisection of a dog as long as it was not their pet. Arluke and Sanders' fieldwork gives the reader access to places, like research laboratories and veterinary hospitals, that permit a broader understanding of our four legged friends that we worship and who sometimes worship us.

Subcultures like pet owners, veterinary personnel, and breeders have always had a greater perspective of the dynamics of human-animal symbiosis. It is only within the crucible of academe that the "mind," social influence, and the pragmatics of animals have been omitted from discussions. Arnold Arluke and Clinton Sanders are determined to increase our knowledge and question our values regarding animals. This book is an asset to anyone interested in deconstructing myths we have made that separate us from the wet nosed companion nestled by our feet.

very good, lots of illustrations
a little advance for the beginner but it will help also

We wrote this brief and to the point book for one reason: to quickly provide information for both the inexperienced and wrongfully taught handler of the working dog. There are three additional sub-themes. The working dog is a family member; however, it is not a "sport" dog. Defense of a family, or handler, must never be considered sport, even in training. Secondly, the working dog is a full-time two-year-old child in the sense of time commitment. The handler must not only care for physical needs, but must maintain training routines, (obedience, tracking and grip work). The goal is not robotic responses, but team interaction that incorporates work, fun and mutual respect. To repeat, this is also a goal of protection work. The work shows how to incorporate positive training aspects, and points out abusive "techniques" and their results: a dog that can't be depended upon in the multiple settings of family life. The work is an easy read and useful for owners of non-protection breeds as well.

When reading this book's title, one believes they are buying a book solely on protection. Negative. This book also covers tracking and obedience training. This is fine, however, much of the techniques of the training are just an overview and are not really detailed. Many questions that may arise during training are left unanswered in this very brief book. It basically is a book on the Schutzhund sport, without it coming out and saying it outright. Overall, the book is a worthy addition for Schutzhund enthusiasts though would probably not provide any new information to the experienced Schutzhund trainer or those people well read on any of the three phases of Schutzhund.

I actually needed this book for a kinesiology class and I'm finding it very helpful!

This book provides essential information for the undergraduate student of movement science and will be of interest to physiotherapists, biomechanists and exercise specialists. It covers the musculoskeletal and neurological considerations for movement, functional anatomy and kinetic and kinematic analysis of human motion. The sections on functional anatomy are particularly helpful as they combine the regional anatomical facts with useful biomechanical information in a way that I have not seen before. The book is highly readable and the many diagrams and figures enhance the reader's understanding. All in all a book that is worth buying.

I bought this when we first moved to the West, so I would sound like a local! It's a great reference book, and explains the differences between vaqueros, cowboys, cowpunchers, and buckaroos. A fun read.

Cute book for the novice cowboy and cowgirl--entertaining reading for the "real thing". Well written and technically correct--great pictures and illustrations. Obviously written by one who knows the cowboy way. Highly recommended!