"Animals have shaped our minds, our lives, our land, and our civilization. Humanity would not have gotten very far without them--making use of their labor for transportation, agriculture, and pollination; their protection from predators; and their bodies for food and to make clothing, music, and art. And over the last two centuries, humans have made unprecedented advances in science, technology, behavior, and beliefs. Yet how is it that we continue...

When a woman unexpectedly loses her lifelong best friend and mentor, she finds herself burdened with the unwanted dog he has left behind. Her own battle against grief is intensified by the mute suffering of the dog, a huge Great Dane traumatized by the inexplicable disappearance of its master, and by the threat of eviction: dogs are prohibited in her apartment building. While others worry that grief has made her a victim of magical thinking, the woman...

After Tova Sullivan’s husband died, she began working the night shift at the Sowell Bay Aquarium, mopping floors and tidying up. Keeping busy has always helped her cope, which she’s been doing since her eighteen-year-old son, Erik, mysteriously vanished on a boat in Puget Sound over thirty years ago. Tova becomes acquainted with curmudgeonly Marcellus, a giant Pacific octopus living at the aquarium. Marcellus knows more than anyone can imagine...

Accepting a position in the small town of Sunshine, Idaho, Emily, a veterinary intern, is shocked to discover that her new boss is her gorgeous one-night stand from a Reno vet conference, which changes everything.

"A deep-time history of how humans engaged wildlife in North America, by the best-selling and award-winning author of Coyote America. In 1908, a cowboy discovered bones from an extinct giant bison near Folsom, New Mexico. When archeologists found handmade weapons embedded in the fossils, the discovery vastly expanded our continent's known human history, but also revealed the long-standing danger Homo sapiens have presented to their fellow animals....

When his Uncle Bertie dies, Todd Dwyer is left with his little mutt, Archie. Todd's girlfriend insists that he give Archie to his sister, whose rural home is a day's drive away. Todd and Archie hit the road, but after a detour to a hotel run by Todd's childhood friend, Emma, their road trip turns bumpier than an unpaved country lane.

A collection of sixteen short stories about the remarkable bond between humans and their dogs by bestselling New York Times author Jon Katz.

A pioneering canine behaviorist draws on cutting-edge research to show that a single, simple trait--the capacity to love--is what makes dogs such perfect companions for humans, and to explain how people can better reciprocate their affection.

"Evie is making her way to the Sanctuary, [a dog rescue program high atop a mountain]. She has lied to gain entry. She has pretended to know more than she does about dogs, but she is learning fast. Once the indomitable Mrs. Auberchon lets her pass, she will find her way. Like the racing greyhound who refuses to move, the golden retriever who returns to his job as the Sanctuary's butler every time he's adopted, and the Rottweiler who's a hopeless candidate...

"A maverick scientist who co-founded the field of anthrozoology offers a controversial, thought-provoking, and unprecedented exploration of the psychology behind the inconsistent and often paradoxical ways we think, feel, and behave towards animals" -- Publisher.