In the Company of Animals: A Study of Human-Animal Relationships

I loved this book. I have read other sources of information on anthrozoology, but none were nearly as comprehensive, well-researched, and well-written as Serpell's work. This book has it all. It presents a fairly complete history of human-animal relationships throughout the western world. It also uses scientific research to assess the human-animal bond, and is peppered with many fascinating anecdotes and examples. With all these elements combined, it becomes a real page-turner. Great for anyone, whether you are looking for an introduction to anthrozoology, or you are just looking for a good book to read with your dog or cat on your lap. A+

As a professor of anthropology who teaches a course on Anthrozoology at Western Illinois University, I highly recommend In the Company of Animals. Anthrozoology (the scientific study of human-animal interaction) is a dynamic new area of study and Dr Serpell is one of the founders. This book is required reading for my course, and students love it! Serpell's work explores the phenomena of domestication and pet keeping, or companion animals (as we prefer to call them now), from a cross-cultural and evolutionary perspective that is highly anthropological. Shame on us! An Anthropologist should have written this book! I highly recommend this work.

This is among perhaps a half dozen books which illustrate the valuable human/animal relationships. I read as many as I can, and I highly endorse this book. None of us has to be alone; and all of us benefit from knowing more about this deep part of our world.RDS

In the Company of Animals is the single best introduction to anthrozoology - the study of human-animal interactions. A woman once told me about her experience reading it. She said simply, "That book changed my life." Serpell is a both a powerful writer and a leading scholar in this field. The first half of In the Company of Animals is largely concerned with the who, what, and why of maintaining non-human animals as companions. In the breadth of his coverage, Serpell displays an impressive command of psychology, ethology, history, cultural anthropology, and behavioral medicine. A brief sampling of a few representative topics illustrates the span of Serpell's intellectual vision: the role of pets in sixteenth century witchcraft, the effects of watching aquarium fish on blood pressure, bestiality, social parasitism, and why dogs rather than pigs became companion animals. Serpell argues that individuals who keep pets have often been viewed with scorn, suspicion, and pity. At times, pet owners have been subjected to persecution and even death. Thus, this part of the book is essentially a defense of companion animals. Serpell reviews recent studies documenting the benefits of pets to human health, psychological well-being, and the amelioration of loneliness. He concludes that the company of animals serves to buffer their owners from the interpersonal isolation all too common in modern industrial societies. The second half of In the Company of Animals focuses on the darker side of human-animal interactions. Serpell is particularly adept at describing paradoxes inherent if our interactions with other species. Among my favorites are the dual roles of puppies in Southeast Asian households (pets and dinner), Adolf Hitler's commitment to animal welfare, and the love people have for dogs coupled with an equally passionate loathing for their immediate progenitor, the wolf. Serpell, however, goes further than listing the foibles that characterize human-animal relationships. He develops an explanation, suggesting that these paradoxes ultimately reflect the evolutionary processes which have shaped the human mind. Serpell believes that moral conflict that emerges in our relationships with animals stems from a tendency we inherited from our hunter-gatherer forbearers -- the penchant for meat. By nature we are exploiters of animals. But unlike tigers and wolves and boa constrictors, we are carnivores with a sense of guilt. As a result we have developed psychological mechanisms that allow us to maintain the "myth of human supremacy." He believes this is an illusion which developed as cultures shifted from hunter-gatherer economies to those based on the slaughter of domestic animals. This hypothesis provides a powerful perspective on the contradictions seen in human-animal relationships. While readers may not agree with all of Serpell's ideas, they will find that In the Company of Animals is a beautifully written book that is rich in both facts and provocative ideas. It will appeal to both animal lovers and the scholars who study them.

This book was first published in 1986. It is a classic in the field of the study of human animal interactions. If you are interested in this subject you HAVE to read this book. The book reflects a totally novel approach to our understanding of human animal relationships. If you care about animals and the environment this is a book for you. You'll never think about pork or pets the same way again.

An excellent book exploring every possible angle of the human-animal bond. Why we love and need animals, what we do to them, and everything in between! Very well written and understandable. After reading many books on this subject, this was my favorite! Everyone who reads this book will have a greater understanding and love of animals. Animals are good for our health, physically and mentally. Serpell also makes us realize what the human race is doing to animals, such as testing on them or eating them!! This is a must read for any animal lover who is truly bonded to their pet or pets like I am!

If you want to know the actual reasons why we humans are so inclined to love our pets, and gain some fascinating insights into how beneficial it is for us to have pets, then read this book.

Although claiming to be a study of human-animal relationships, this book offers an endless recital of man's inhumanity to man, to support the book's theme that man's history with animals has been even worse. Very poorly thought out and extremely long-winded, this book reads like an overblown Usenet message--"those other people are all so horrible, but we animal lovers are OK, aren't we?" Oddly, Serpell seems so rooted in the very "human supremacist" philosophy that he rails against, that he ends up reinforcing that very philosophy. Not enlightening at all; I feel like a pall has been cast over my relationships with both people and animals. You would learn far more by taking the money and time you might waste on this book, and spending them on your own dog or cat or whatever animal you please.

Such a thought provoking book. Family members with no prior interest in the subjects who read pages over my shoulder have asked to borrow it! I read this book in preparation for studying anthrozoology and it has given me so much inspiration.

Thoroughly researched and engaging. A fascinating first class book, packed with historical context and studies about our relationship with, and attitudes towards, non-human animals. Well written and zero waffle.

Ok

would have liked to have seen more pictures in the book,and the paper that the book is made from has a horrible texture about itbut it arrived and time and in the condition it was suppose to be in.