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60 of 65 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Rats, Sure, But Mostly Humans, April 19, 2004
Last year when I visited New York City I went running in Central Park, and the very first squirrel I saw was no squirrel at all, but a rat. According to Robert Sullivan, this would have been a good sign of the prosperity of the colony from which that rat had emerged. Rats go out at night, usually, and one edging out during the day means that the colony is pushing out beyond its usual boundaries. Sullivan has made a hobby out of rat-watching, and has written a peculiar and fascinating book about his adventures with his own rat pack, _Rats: Observations on the History & Habitat of the City's Most Unwanted Inhabitants_ (Bloomsbury). It isn't only (or even mostly) about his observed colony in an alley a few blocks away from Wall Street, but about city rats in general and their history of living with us. Because of this, Rats isn't really about rats, but about the humans who have imported them and given them garbage to live on and then have been annoyed when they flourish and stupefied when they refuse eradication. Sullivan found a cobblestone passageway near City Hall called (note the irony) Edens Alley. His fascination for it was founded on the rats' fascination for the provided food, bags of garbage from a market and two restaurants. He spent night after night in the alley, with night-vision glasses and a folding stool. Nights spent there, he spent days doing research, which has lead to some surprising facts; since rats are important to us as pests, there has been a great deal of research done on them, much of it practical and some of it less so. For instance, rats can become immune to poison; even the first anticoagulant medications that were put into bait no longer work in many places, so using them just gives the rats a free meal. Rats are not limited to being pests; they also have been entertainment. In the middle of the nineteenth century, you could go to Kit Burns's Sportsman's Hall to see rat fights. They have played their roles in the unionization of the sanitation workers, and in the civil rights struggle. It is surprising at first to find that the World Trade Center plays a large role in this book. Sullivan talks to an exterminator who says he isn't an exterminator; he is a "pest control manager," reflecting the realistic view that rats will never be exterminated, but might be controlled from time to time, and even excluded from some areas. He had the contract for the WTC after the first bombing in 1993. Office workers evacuated the building, but they left the food they had out on every story to the delight of the rats. "We did top to bottom," he says of the rat clean-up. When the towers fell in 2001, there had been restaurants in the buildings, and restaurants nearby with food out which had to be abandoned, but not by the rats. It was impossible to do any rodent-proofing; the rats could come and go as they pleased. But one firm put out thousands of bait stations, and with good reason. When the technicians descended into the dust-filled lower levels of the foundations, they could see the tracks of thousands of rats which were tracing paths through the dust. The fall of the towers meant that Sullivan could not get into his alley to do more observations for a while, but by the time he did, the rats were back. This is a surprise-filled book of odd facts, strange personalities, and an eccentric narrator, who reacted to the return of his rats after the crisis by being filled with hope. If the rats are back, then the city is returning to its normal operation.
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15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Almost perfect, October 29, 2004
Robert Sullivan relates his experiences as he delves into rats, with the focus being on the role that rats play in history and modern culture rather than dwelling on the nuances of rat behavior. He spends nights in a forgotten alleyway in New York, watching the rats as they emerge from their burrows to take advantage of the local restaurant waste. He spends time with exterminators (or "pest control specialists," as the industry leaders prefer), whether they work for small companies or large ones. And, apparently, he spends time at the library, digging up historical information that is at times so obscure that you wonder how he ever found it as it relates to his subject.
But Sullivan's book, peppered with literary quotes from the likes of Thoreau and Emerson, is ultimately less about rats and more about people. The rats are a fascinating hook, and every time a rodent skitters across the page, Sullivan invites us to squirm along with him. But more often, the reader is treated to quirky episodes in American history, in which the rats play some sort of role.
The black plague, the era of Gangs of New York, the American Revolution, the labor movement, and anti-Chinese sentiments at the turn of the century are just some of the subjects of Sullivan's stories, and he tells them all with a master's flair.
The Good and the Bad:
This is one of the best nonfiction books I've ever read, edging out Hillenbrandt's Seabiscuit, and rivaling Kurlansky's Cod and the works of Bill Bryson. Sullivan knows how to tell an interesting story, and he has chosen a subject which rivets our attention no matter how it is presented. Putting the two elements together leads to a lot of compulsive page-turning.
Sullivan has that rare ability to reach deep into the history books and pull out the most engaging anecdotes, and yet find the connection to his story that merits the inclusion.
He also possesses the rare ability to insert himself into the story without dwelling on himself. While much of the book involves his personal interactions with the world, he never strays into the grandstanding that so many authors seem to find impossible to resist.
The book is mostly tangents, and there are footnotes that lead to tangents from the tangents, and endnotes that add yet another layer of side stories. But that's okay, because this is a journey that is far more pleasurable than any destination could be.
If I had to pick a nit about this one (and I like to present a little criticism on everything I read), I would say that I was surprised that there weren't more personal stories about people who aren't related to the rat industry, and their dealings with rats. He relates the rat story of an acquaintance who finds a rat in his bathroom, and it is one of the most entertaining sections in the book. I can't help but think that there are other stories out there that would have been worthy of inclusion.
Similarly, I would have liked to have learned a little more about the rats themselves, as pertains to their social structure and other areas of interest from a naturalist perspective. For example, he mentions a couple of times that a starving rat colony will begin to cannibalize itself, but there's no in-depth description of this phenomenon.
These are small concerns compared to the overall level of success that the book enjoyed. You know a book is good when you don't think anything should be taken out of it; you just want more and more. I'm definitely going to go look up other works by Sullivan now that I've been introduced to his writing.
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20 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Ratting in New York City, April 7, 2004
Rats. Most people stay clear from these nocturnal creatures that creep around city alleys eating garbage, most people that is except Robert Sullivan who has dedicated a year studying the Rattus norvegicus, or the brown rat, in New York City. In an attempt to find out more about these mammals that live in such close proximity to urban dwellers he embarks on a journey to unravel the mystery of the brown rat that is often escaping extermination by humans. Scouting out potential alleys to study in Manhattan he finds Edens Alley, a cobblestone alley in the back of several restaurants and other businesses which house dozens of rats that feast on the garbage and slimy liquids. Sitting on a small chair and armed with notepad and night-vision binoculars Sullivan takes detailed notes in the fashion of a biological scientist. Aside from his own observations Sullivan delves into the literature of rats in New York City and individuals who are intimately involved with rats. As a result of his research he arrives at many interesting conclusions. Most attention to rats throughout the history of the city is focused on the conflict between man and rat. Various exterminators that Sullivan has interviewed have revealed the various methods of rat eradication. What I found most interesting was how the brown rat was at times an integral part of history such as the rat battle of Rykers Island in 1915 and the history of illegal rat fighting during the 19th century. Sullivan also succeeds in exposing some well-known rat myths that have survived for decades. As a result of his utilization of several research sources Sullivan created a well-rounded expose of the brown rat in New York City. The tone and style is much like a nature study. Not many people would endure sitting in stinking alleys amidst rotting garbage for a year, yet it was clear that Sullivan has his own skirmishes with rats. He never hides his own fears and reservations while studying Edens Alley. I've often ventured in alleys throughout my neighborhood in Chicago and there are bright yellow rat warning signs that are posted on some telephone poles, yet I have never seen a rat myself. Maybe I'm just not looking hard enough? Maybe if I look a little harder the brown rat would make an appearance? I wonder...
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by Albert Marrin
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