Book Review Time!

I have said it before and I will say it again, I am not really a blogger. Nor am I big on book reviews, although I do love to read. But sometimes a book touches you so deeply that you feel obligated to share your experience with all you can.

The book I am talking about, of course, is Cougar Attacks: Encounters of the Worst Kind by Kathy Etling. Now as you all know I am something of an amateur Zoologist with an extensive background in Cougars. Immediately, “Encounters of the Worst Kind” caught my eye. If anyone is an expert on cougar attacks it is most certainly me. I just had to read this book.

Of course, I didn't read the book, but I did read a few lines on Amazon.com and I must say I don't really remember a thing about them. However, I still feel duty bound to steal from the reviews that other people wrote and provide some insight and analysis.

"Kathy Etling has done an amazing job, presenting lots of exciting and scary real-life stories while keeping a rational perspective of the rarity of these events and the positive values of cougars to humans..."

Cougars are scary. I am thinking of one right now and a shudder just went up my spine. Anywho, I am sure there are good real-life stories in the book but I will bet dollars to doughnuts that mine and yours are better. Screw Etling for trying to one up me.

"We should not fear cougars, but respect their behaviors, abilities, and habitat (editors note: By habitat he means Ohio). We can live with this magnificent predator by educating ourselves on how to reduce risk of interaction."

Amen to that, brother, but I think you meant how to reduce the risk of infection, not interaction. But it was well written and I will forgive your mistake.

In summary Amazon.com is a great resource for finding books about Cougars that you do not really plan to read but instead will use images and excerpts in a sad attempt to be funny or witty. This book, which probably should be read by everyone and made required reading in all schools north of the Mason-Dixon line (I don't think they read books in the South), probably details what happens when Cougars attack. And I know from experience this is a lot more common than most people believe.

Posted by Markus on Thu Jan 17, 2008 @ 9:35 am EDT | 14 Comments