myself and other animals
Gerald Durrell (Viking)
Conservationist Gerald Durrell's first dog, Simon, was a coward. A garden hose is as deadly as a spitting cobra to a honey-colored cocker spaniel, who once had a nervous breakdown for several days after unexpectedly running into a snowball.
It's nuggets like this that make Durrell's writing so fascinating. Although his animal depictions are often anthropomorphic, they combine keen observation and humor, demonstrating how well he understood what makes animals tick and brings them to life on the page. It shows.
Source: www.newscientist.com