From Publishers Weekly
One can savor Lorenz's talks with Austrian journalist Mundl shortly before his death in 1989 as a passionate, forceful, eloquent plea for ecological sanity. Like an Old Testament prophet, the author of On Aggression warns against the destruction of forests, pollution of waters, extinction of animals and human overpopulation. He is a clearsighted opponent of nuclear power plants. Lorenz can be irritating, however: he displays a casual attitude toward oil spills, and appears to admire hunters "who perform their art in a truly conscientious and noble manner." Although an animal lover, he believes it is acceptable to kill them for food, and he supports large-scale laboratory experimentation on them. Lorenz's horror of big cities seems more elitist than ecologically motivated, and his remarks on youth and age, Darwinism and harmony with nature at times sound sententious or pontifical. Photos.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
This book comprises ten years of the recollections and thoughts of Nobel Prize-winning ethologist Lorenz, recorded in conversation with journalist Mundl before Lorenz's death in 1989. It includes reflections on Lorenz's life and on his lifelong relationship with animals; and his views on maladies of the modern world. Many of the themes and even some of the anecdotes will be familiar to those who have read Lorenz's previous works, particularly Civilized Man's Eight Deadly Sins ( LJ 5/1/74). This work, more readable than Lorenz's final book, The Waning of Humaneness ( LJ 7/87), is especially relevant in a time of reawakening environmental consciousness. A good choice, especially for large and medium-sized public libraries.
- Joseph Hannibal, Cleveland Museum of Natural History
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.
- Joseph Hannibal, Cleveland Museum of Natural History
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.
