King Solomon's Ring: New Light on Animals' Ways (Paperback)

by Konrad Lorenz (Author), Julian Huxley (Foreword)
Key Phrases: fourteen young jackdaws, male jackdaw, rattling attack, Lake Neusiedel, Jack London (more...)

Product Details

• Paperback: 216 pages
• Publisher: Plume (January 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0452011752
• ISBN-13: 978-0452011755
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #305,844 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Humorous and educational. An animal lovers heaven., October 25, 1998

By A Customer

"It has been theorized that cats which present dead mice to their owners, and which play with live mice in front of their owners, are not seeking approval. Rather, they are attempting to teach their oversized, deformed, clumsy, learning-impaired two-legged kittens how to make a living. They are responsible for your welfare, after all." This is just one of the many theories found in Konrad Lorenz's "King Solomon's Ring." In his book, Lorenz shows how some kinds of behavior are governed by the same process of natural selection as governs physical development. Animal behavior is absolutely fascinating. If you've never read Konrad Lorenz's "King Solomon's Ring", buy a paper copy. It may very well change your view of animals for the rest of your life. More and more you will appreciate the complex things that go on as you watch animals. This book is easy-reading and is filled with humor. I recommend it to all ages of animal lovers.

16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The thinking person's Herriot, June 27, 2000

By	Carrie Laben (Brooklyn, NY United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

In readable, friendly style, Konrad Lorenz uses illustrations from his everyday life among animals of all kinds to illustrate a variety of fascinating points. The balance between anecdotes and theory is well handled and the book stands out both as education and as entertainment. I find the sections dealing with keeping animals in captivity especially worthwhile - Lorenz explains clearly and concisely why most people feel sorry for captive animals for all the wrong reasons, this section should be required reading for most people who think that they are promoting 'animal rights'. Highly recommended.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A beautiful book for all who love nature, January 19, 2004

By	Keith Appleyard "kapple999" (Brighton, UK) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Confession - I'd never heard of Konrad Lorenz (even though he won the Nobel Prize in 1973), and I don't usually read books by Naturalists.

I was driving between business meetings during the day, when I happened to tune in to BBC Radio 4 (same as National Public Radio in the USA), and by accident caught a book reading of Chapter 10 regarding Dogs. Then on another day I caught Chapter 11 on Birds. Captivated, I actually pulled over so that I could hear the whole chapter & find out what the book was and who the Author was.

Then I ordered the book as a treat to myself for Christmas.

Fantastic! With some abridging 'on the fly', this book could even be read to/by a younger audience say down to 8 years old, who would enjoy, laugh & cry at some of the stories contained herein.

I wish my science teacher had read this to me when I was 8, rather than do some silly experiments with boring pond life (Chapter 2 would have taught me more about Pond Life)!