Monster of God The Man-eating Predator in the Jungles of History and the Mind

Great and terrible flesh-eating beasts have always shared the landscape with humans. Now, of course, as humans spread and despoil the planet, predators may only survive on the other side of glass barriers and chain-link fences. David Quammen is no armchair evolutionary theorist, and, in The Song of the Dodo, everything he writes about he has experienced first-hand. In this book he examines the fate of lions in India's Gir forest, saltwater crocodiles in northern Australia, brown bears in the mountains of Romania, and Siberian tigers. He is equally intrigued by the traditional relationship between the great predators and the people who live among them, and weaves into his story the fears and myths that have haunted humankind for millennia. Praise for The Song of the Dodo: *This book is vital' John Fowles, Sunday Times *'Not since Gerald Durrell's books 30 years ago have I encountered such writing about the natural world. The witty, pithy, modest prose and the clever interweaving of science and storytelling are of a quality unrivalled in the field.' Matt Ridley, Sunday Telegraph *'Quammen's heroic, demanding book is a monument to scholarly rigour and scientific accuracy. Scientists are raving about it in the States, yet the lay reader too will be borne along by his engaging intelligence, his good-natured mix of learning and humour.' Alexander Frater, Observer