A Cat Named Darwin: How a Stray Cat Changed a Man into a Human Being [Hardcover]

William Jordan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 12, 2002

Bill Jordan's life changed forever the day a stray cat nesting under his bougainvillea bit him on the hand. A reformed biologist, Jordan had no particular love for animals and felt vaguely contemptuous of those who did — until the cat, beckoning with a wink and a yawn, led him on a journey to exotic lands, strange cultures, and fascinating discoveries. As their bond deepened and the cat's health began to fail, Jordan was forced into a commitment more devoted and sincere than any he had known before.

Puzzling through his own feelings, he came to some remarkable conclusions: that those we love live in the synapses and molecules of memory, and that as long as we exist, they exist as part of our brain. It doesn't matter to our neurons whether the loved one is animal or human; the mechanism is the same. Even so, the two relationships are quite different: A cat is a creature with whom one shares solitude; with a human being, on the other hand, solitude generally means a failed relationship. And while communion with animals is usually considered inferior to communication with human beings, the truth is that the need for companionship is a human trait. In the absence of other companionship, the human mind will grow around any living thing like a vine. Bill Jordan learned that the first time your mind grows around a cat, you don’t realize you have fallen in love until it’s too late.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Cat fanciers will enjoy this memoir by a 45-year-old man who lived alone until his heart was stolen by an orange cat. Jordan, a biologist (Divorce Among the Gulls: An Uncommon Look at Human Nature), was taking out the garbage one night when he discovered that a formerly well-cared-for cat he had thought belonged to a neighbor was, in reality, a stray, who scavenged food from garbage cans and was now gaunt and flea-bitten. His initial resistance was quickly overcome and the tomcat he named Darwin soon became the center of his adoptive owner's life. He describes how Darwin insinuated himself more deeply into his consciousness until Jordan finally allowed Darwin to sleep in his bed ("Thus Darwin and I became man and cat"). When Jordan is on assignment in England without Darwin, a vision of the cat as well as his scientist namesake suddenly appears to relieve his loneliness. Unfortunately, Darwin is diagnosed with the feline leukemia virus (requiring expensive treatments Jordan agrees to so that Darwin would be able to live comfortably for as long as possible), and after a long period of illness, dies. Though Jordan adopted another cat while Darwin was still alive, the author's relationship with that orange cat taught him to love. The author's self-deprecating style is what keeps this account from descending into mawkishness.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Entomologist Jordan (Divorce Among the Gulls) here offers a tribute to a stray cat. As a scientist, Jordan previously found animals interesting only as research subjects, felt no attachment to them, and was somewhat contemptuous of those who did. Then Darwin, a stray tomcat, came into his life and altered his way of looking at animals. When Darwin was diagnosed with feline leukemia, Jordan devoted most of his time to tending him, as another stray cat, Hoover, joined the household. After Hoover swatted at a sleeping Darwin, Jordan punished the cat in disturbing ways (including using a marble and slingshot) that this reviewer thought too severe. He does humbly acknowledge those wrongs, but by then one's patience with Jordan's quest to become human has worn thin. Because the author focuses so much on himself, instead of on Darwin, this book lacks the warmth and readability of works like Peter Gethers's Norton series, Deric Longden's The Cat Who Came in from the Cold, and Cleveland Amory's The Cat Who Came for Christmas. Although now reformed and a cat lover, Jordan should stick to writing about bugs.
Eva Lautemann, Georgia Perimeter Coll., Clarkston
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (November 12, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0395986427
• ISBN-13: 978-0395986424
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,369,201 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I read it through in one evening, November 10, 2002

By 

OilBurnerBob "OilBurnerBob" (Long Beach, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Cat Named Darwin: How a Stray Cat Changed a Man into a Human Being (Hardcover)

I've known Bill for a number of years and we've usually talked about insects and politics (no further comment).

At a party a couple of years age, Bill started talking about his cats and how he'd discovered the emotional depth and intelligence of cats that was beyond anything he had imagined. I had recently had a similar experience and we spent the whole evening in cat talk.

I've been waiting for this book since that evening and I wasn't disappointed! I wasn't able to put it down!

Bill's writing is a pleasure to read and the book is a love story with all of the joy and pain that comes with an emotional commitment to another creature - human or otherwise. If you're already an animal lover, this story will bring you smiles and tears. If you've never had a deep emotional attachment to an animal, Darwin's story will bring you a understanding of how such a relationship can develop in human terms and, perhaps, encourage you to explore...

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars We learn ... and our pets are our teachers, August 20, 2004

By 

Ace (East Coast) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

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This review is from: A Cat Named Darwin: How a Stray Cat Changed a Man into a Human Being (Hardcover)

This is a gem of a book. Well-written -- sometimes a bit too pithy and scientific -- but despite that, Jordan's inward reflections are the soul-baring and keenly appreciated narratives of the living interplay between human and cat.

This book chronicles the transformation of Jordan the human (who admits to past transgressions against animals in the name of research), as he rescues, struggles with, loves, accepts and pays worthy homage to the cat Darwin as the teacher, with the human as putty being shaped into something finer than the original because of this living breathing oh-so-wise (and which of the felines is NOT wise?!) cat-being.

I can very well appreciate Jordan's well-written almost hilarious definition of unwrapping sharp kitty teeth from his limbs as "defusing a bomb", having myself done that many times with my (totally mis-named!) Baby Twinkle, an equally huge and fearsome female counterpart to Darwin, herself a street rescue.

But I gritted my teeth every time he let Darwin back outside at night and watched Darwin have his cat fights with the neighborhood cats. "For Heaven's Sake!" I wanted to yell at Jordan -- "One cat bite is all it takes! You're inviting a living death by Feline Leukemia or Feline Aids -- and you can easily avoid this by keeping Darwin inside, getting him vaccinated!!! So... when Darwin died a slow and terrible death (I have seen this TOO many times in friends' cats, and this disease is so easily avoidable!!!), I wanted to say "I really hope, Bill Jordan, that your next kitty stays indoors.....".

I commend Bill Jordan for his life-saving dedication to Darwin, his soul searching, his huge huge love for such an innocent being (as I see it, Adam and Eve were NOT thrown out of the Garden of Eden for anything that the cats had done!). Jordan's heart and soul were shining sweet and strong thru every page of his desperate tooth-gritting quest to save Darwin.

When the inevitable happened, Jordan's dialogue in the garden with Darwin is priceless.

Hope, in the form and name of Hoover, walked into Jordan's life at the right time. I hope Jordan learned from Darwin, and keeps Hoover indoors now. I also hope he refrains from any more strange (ie, unknowingly cruel) methods of discipline -- judging by his remorse, I feel that he has learned.

Despite some of my misgivings and heartfelt critiques, I still think Jordan's book is a treasure. I'm sorry Darwin is gone. But he was still a very lucky cat to have found such love in the form of William Jordan.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A journey through faults and pleasures, January 21, 2003

By 

"sadsiren1" (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Cat Named Darwin: How a Stray Cat Changed a Man into a Human Being (Hardcover)

While I would recommend this book to anyone, I think it'll hit home most closely with those who have ever owned, and perhaps even loved, a cat.

In this book Jordan retells the memory of meeting and accepting Darwin into his home, albeit often in a technical "scientific method" writing style at first. But as the story progresses, you see this colder side melt away, both from the character and the writing, and are left with the tenderness and emotion this man learned to feel for this cat.

There are moments that may be hard to read, as there a scenes involving the veterinary hospital and, as another reader pointed out, a moment where Jordan is mad at another cat for attacking Darwin when he was trying to get them to coexist in his home, as well as reflections of Jordan's youth when he was less concerned for animals. But these scenes help to show just how strong an effect Darwin had on this man's life, and how drastically he has changed. While I am no fan of animal abuse in any form, these scenes had a reason to be included.

The last few chapters had me in tears. As a whole, this is very touching and beautiful book. I bought it out of sheer curiosity at the mention of the title and having finished it...I have no regrets with my purchase.