 |   Author : Joel Berger Edition : illustrated edition Number of Pages : 360 Publisher : University Of Chicago Press List Price: Our Price: $17.92 You Save: $11.08 (39%) Used Price : $8.74 |
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- ISBN13: 9780226043630
- Condition: New
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Product Description
Berger’s fieldwork that frigid day raised important questions that would require years of travel and research to answer: Can naive animals avoid extinction when they encounter reintroduced carnivores? To what extent is fear culturally transmitted? And how can a better understanding of current predator-prey behavior help demystify past extinctions and inform future conservation?
The Better to Eat You With is the chronicle of Berger’s search for answers. From Yellowstone’s elk and wolves to rhinos living with African lions and moose coexisting with tigers and bears in Asia, Berger tracks cultures of fear in animals across continents and climates, engaging readers with a stimulating combination of natural history, personal experience, and conservation. Whether battling bureaucracy in the statehouse or fighting subzero wind chills in the field, Berger puts himself in the middle of the action. The Better to Eat You With invites readers to join him there. The thrilling tales he tells reveal a great deal not only about survival in the animal kingdom but also the process of doing science in foreboding conditions and hostile environments.
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Customer reviews
Predators & Prey - What can be learned 
by .. Martin Concannon (Lexington, KY)
A fascinating look at the way predator species and prey species interact. With several examples of endangered predators (wolves, cougars, grizzly bears) reclaiming some of their former territory, it is clear that there is much to be learned about how those predator-prey relationships develop in real time.
Joel Berger is an outdoorsman and academic who brings deep knowledge and experience to the questions of how societies of animals learn and pass on "wisdom" to their young - using data collected from every corner of the earth. Stories of his time studying animals in the woods make for a compelling read - all the while shedding important light on questions of how wildlife will survive in the 21st century and what we can learn from them.
a review for the non-scientist by .. Linda Jo Hunter (West Coast)
Although at first I thought the title was a little misleading, I found this book hard to put down. Though it doesn't read like an adventure story there is plenty of adventure to be had, like sleeping in a tree in an area where tigers eat grizzly bears and staying in a hut in minus temperatures where a faulty stove is the only thing between life and death for the author and assistant. On top of the world tour of the animal kingdom another valuable thing about this book is an examination of the scientific mind and the challenges of fieldwork. It not only examines how animals deal with fear and survival but how a scientist fetters out "facts" from a world we can see only little of and animals we cannot talk to. First comes a theory to be proven or dis-proven, then peer review and finally publication. Many scientists end up with data that doesn't support the theory or with unforeseen events they can't explain. The process is very slow, field work often incredibly daunting and each scientist has a limited number of years they can do things like that. In a world where politics and science are in a tug of war over what should be done to to the world, this book is a valuable read for those of us who want to make sense of it. Many of the issues can't wait for a complete process and are decided on theories much to the discomfort of the scientist. Berger's book takes the issue of predator and prey and holds it up to the light for all of us. The author was there to witness the first effects of wolf re-introduction on naive elk in Yellowstone and then covered all the other interesting spots in the world to learn more about the interaction of predators and prey. His work is important, extensive and rightly leaves us with as many questions as answers. I also was amused at what the author left out of the book. For instance, how could he end up married to a field assistant who almost died while he slept through a crisis? This book has no "slow parts" even though it is filled with facts, dates, historical anecdotal stories and other research. The questions I still have could fill another book like "How do animals who are killed by a predator pass on fear to others?" "Which are healthier; animals who are wary and alert or those who graze unconcerned like domestic cattle?" It isn't often that a book stirs you on to a quest for more knowledge. For that I give this book a five star recommendation and fully intend to read the other books by this author.
Hard to follow because of the confusing writing style 
by .. A. S. Johnson (Anchorage, AK)
I bought this book hoping to gain more insight into predator/prey behavior. While this book contains valuable information about the author's research in this area, it is couched in a narrative that is at least half memoir. I suppose this could be a good combination, except this author is not a skilled enough writer to carry it off successfully. The book is very disjointed because he keeps seeing it necessary to talk about his past - attending baseball games in California, throwing up on a plane, how he and his spouse raised their daughter - as he discusses his animal studies. It is hard to tell when he is going to break and discuss the science behind his adventures. All in all, I believe this book fails in meeting the goal of clarifying the changes in animal behavior as we have systematically obliterated predator species.