The Whole Hog: Exploring the Extraordinary Potential of Pigs (Hardcover)

~ Watson L (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Naturalist Watson offers a worthy successor to 2002's well-received Elephantoms with an entertaining and highly informative survey of the humble pig that blends scientific fact with personal insight. Watson investigates several distinct pig types, including bushpigs, wild boars, forest hogs and peccaries ("Honorary Pigs"), and offers anecdotes about his childhood pet warthog—"Hoover was a gentleman," he recalls fondly. With an eye to "counteract some of our misguided perceptions about [pigs] and shed some light instead on creatures a lot like ourselves," his analysis of the pig snout shows how it is "at the same time arm, hand, spade and primary sense organ"; his discussion of pigs' ears ("like radar dishes") and vocalizations offers insight into the animals' communication system; and a run down of human/pig structural similarities (and the resultant crucial role pigs have come to play in modern medicine) may put some folks off their pork and chops. Anthropology, biology, geography, psychology are all here in a clearly written, amiable text peppered with trivia tidbits (Josephine Baker used perfumed dancing pigs in her stage act) and lots of photos. Even those who read but a handful of these pages will find their opinion of pigs much rosier. 45 color illus. not seen by PW.
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From Booklist

Watson, who grew up in Africa with a pet warthog, pays tribute to the family Suidae, both wild and tame. As the author points out, a pig is a pig no matter what the species, and gregarious would more than adequately describe their nature. Herds of wild pigs are found over most of the continents, with their domestic brethren having been introduced just about everywhere else. Watson examines the wild species, ranging from the African warthogs to the island-living babirusas, South America's peccaries, and the ancestor of domestic pigs, the Eurasian wild boar. Comparing these wild pigs with their tame counterparts, the author works in information on the evolution of pigs, their behavior and adaptations, and, most importantly, their intelligence. Enlivening the text with stories from his own encounters with pigs, Watson adds a personal touch that makes all the facts read like fiction, with period illustrations, photographs, and drawings adding further charm. The extensive notes and bibliography complete what will become the sine qua non of books on swine. Nancy Bent
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Smithsonian (November 17, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1588342166
• ISBN-13: 978-1588342164
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 7.6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #299,325 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars ---------------, December 23, 2004

By	B.A. Brittingham (Michigan, USA) - See all my reviews

These days the majority of us are city-bred and virtually clueless when it comes to farm animals. Rarely do we get much closer to these domestic denizens than the kindergarten song about Old MacDonald's boisterous barnyard. Except, of course, when we lift our forks, at which point such creatures hardly resemble their living selves. Perhaps this mollifies our consciences, i.e. that pork and beef, lamb and fowl seem nearer those edibles springing from the earth (corn and cabbage) and less like our not-so-distant, four-legged cousins.

With his 24th and latest book, Lyall Watson may inadvertently launch a new wave of vegetarianism, so charming is the porcine portrait he paints. (To counterbalance any economic shock to the meat industry, it should be mentioned that earlier in his three-decade writing career, Watson also penned a couple of essays on the topic of whether or not plants feel pain.) At any rate, once you have delved into "Whole Hog", you cannot help but come away with an altered perspective and just a bit of guilt about this `star' of so many meals.

Watson describes not only the hog versions with which we are familiar, but contrasts them with their wild varieties, as well as, their close relatives, the peccaries. He intersperses scientific fact with fanciful information such as the origin of piggy banks and the distance covered by a single year's worldwide sausage production.

This ode to pigs will likely bring criticism for something that has long been the bane of naturalists: anthropomorphism. Anything smacking of benevolence towards, or support of, animal consciousness elicits supercilious smirks from humans. (Are we inherently so unsure of our place in nature and our tenure as its `rulers'?) Loren Eiseley, who during his years as Benjamin Franklin Professor of Anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania, won more awards and accolades than any predecessor except Franklin, addressed this. "There is a sense in which when we cease to anthropomorphize, we cease to be men, for when we cease to have human contact with animals and deny them all relation to ourselves, we tend . . . to deny our own humanity."

Watson, too, weighs in on the issue with, "It is indeed difficult to demonstrate true awareness or consciousness in other species, but it is becoming more difficult to deny the possibility of animals having minds and using mental experience in the practice of their behavior."

This book is filled with sober and comical photos, statue renderings, and drawings of pigs in various situations. Several are downright endearing, reminding me of someone I knew who, in raising an occasional hog to feed his large family, maintained detachment from the animals by giving them names such as `Food' and `Dinner'. If you have read any of Lyall Watson's books, you already know the smooth, effortless quality of his writing. If you haven't, let "The Whole Hog" be your introduction to it. You may well want to go back and read others ("Dark Nature," "Supernature," "Gifts of Unknown Things") representing this author's broad range of interests.