Other editions of book Wild Animals I Have Known

Ernest Seton's stories reach inside the animals he writes about, in telling their stories. He gives us a greater understanding of their lives on planet earth. Adventure, comedy and sadness all intertwine to make these stories hard to put down until the last word. The stories include: 1. Lobo, the King of Carrumpaw 2. Silverspot, The Story of a Crow 3. Raggylug, the Story of a Cottontail Rabbit 4. Bingo, The Story of My Dog 5. The Springfield Fox 6. The Pacing Mustang 7. Wully, The Story of a Yaller Dog 8. Redruff, The Story of the Don Valley Partridge Ernest Thompson Seton (1860–1946) was an influential writer, wildlife artist and one of the founders of the Boy Scouts of America. Born in England, raised in Canada, Seton eventually moved to New Mexico and became part of the arts community with Georgia O'Keefe. Always interested in nature, the environment and Indian lore, Seton's literary work was among the first in the genre of modern wild-animal fiction, depicting character with a sense of compassion.

A collection of riveting stories about creatures great and small from Ernest Thompson Seton, the creator of realistic wild-animal fiction. Includes a foreword by Sir David Attenborough and an introduction by David L. Witt. Ernest Thompson Seton’s Wild Animals I Have Known, published in 1898, was a transformative masterpiece that not only dramatically shifted the perspective of writers and readers alike, but also changed Seton himself. Through the fateful encounter with the wolf Lobo, Seton became a dedicated wildlife protector, individualizing animals and exploring their motivations, feelings, and personalities. This publication would soon contribute to the conservationist movement of the twentieth century and establish Seton as a pivotal naturalist within our history. Experience Seton’s transformation with the stories of Lobo and other creatures in his words and captivating art, and reconnect with the beauty of the wild and the interconnectedness of man and nature. Wild Animals I Have Known joins Gibbs Smith’s best-selling Wilderness series. Standing beside the works of other incredible naturalists, including Henry David Thoreau, John Muir, Mark Twain, Walt Whitman, and Jack London, these essays are reissued to encourage and inspire philosophers, travelers, campers, and contemporary naturalists. Ernest Thompson Seton (1860–1946) was an author, wildlife artist, founder of the Woodcraft Indians, and one of the founding pioneers of the Boy Scouts of America. He penned Wild Animals I Have Known in 1898, inventing the realistic animal story genre―and a book that would shift the perception of wild nature and that would turn generations upon generations of readers to the outdoors.

Ernest Thompson Seton's stories of wild animals and their wonderful ways touch the hearts of young and old. There are no happy endings in this book, because the moral is that animals always die tragic deaths. But if you want to learn the laws of nature and better understand animals and their ways, these accounts of a hunter-trapper will reward you with hours of enchanted storytelling.

From the foreword- “THESE STORIES are true. Although I have left the strict line of historical truth in many places, the animals in this book were all real characters. They lived the lives I have depicted, and showed the stamp of heroism and personality more strongly by far than it has been in the power of my pen to tell…"Such a collection of histories naturally suggests a common thought a moral it would have been called in the last century. No doubt each different mind will find a moral to its taste, but I hope some will herein find emphasized a moral as old as Scripture: we and the beasts are kin. Man has nothing that the animals have not at least a vestige of, the animals have nothing that man does not in some degree share.”

THESE STORIES are true. Although I have left the strict line of historical truth in many places, the animals in this book were all real characters. They lived the lives I have depicted, and showed the stamp of heroism and personality more strongly by far than it has been in the power of my pen to tell. I believe that natural history has lost much by the vague general treatment that is so common. What satisfaction would be derived from a ten-page sketch of the habits and customs of Man? How much more profitable it would be to devote that space to the life of some one great man. This is the principle I have endeavored to apply to my animals. The real personality of the individual, and his view of life are my theme, rather than the ways of the race in general, as viewed by a casual and hostile human eye. This may sound inconsistent in view of my having pieced together some of the characters, but that was made necessary by the fragmentary nature of the records. There is, however, almost no deviation from the truth in Lobo, Bingo, and the Mustang. The fact that these stories are true is the reason why all are tragic. The life of a wild animal always has a tragic end. Such a collection of histories naturally suggests a common thought—a moral it would have been called in the last century. No doubt each different mind will find a moral to its taste, but I hope some will herein find emphasized a moral as old as Scripture—we and the beasts are kin. Man has nothing that the animals have not at least a vestige of, the animals have nothing that man does not in some degree share. - Taken from "Wild Animals I Have Known" written by Ernest Thompson Seton

Wild animals I have known (1898) by Ernest Thompson Seton, illustrated with 200 drawings.THESE STORIES are true. The animals in this book were all real characters. They lived the lives depicted here, and showed the stamp of heroism and personality more strongly by far than it has been in the power of my pen to tell. Natural history has lost much by the vague general treatment that is so common. What satisfaction would be derived from a ten-page sketch of the habits and customs of Man? How much more profitable it would be to devote that space to the life of some one great man. This is the principle I have endeavored to apply to my animals. The real personality of the individual, and his view of life are my theme, rather than the ways of the race in general, as viewed by a casual and hostile human eye.

Wild Animals I Have Known is an 1898 book by naturalist and author Ernest Thompson Seton. The first entry in a new genre of realistic wild-animal fiction, Seton's first collection of short stories quickly became one of the most popular books of its day. "Lobo the King of Currumpaw", the first story in the collection, was based upon Seton's experience hunting wolves in the southwestern United States. It became a classic, setting the tone for his future works that would similarly depict animals—especially predators who were often demonized in literature—as compassionate, individualistic beings.Several years after its publication, Seton and his works came under fire during the nature fakers controversy, which began in 1903 when naturalist John Burroughs published an essay called "Real and Sham Natural History" in The Atlantic Monthly. In particular Burroughs blamed Seton's collection of stories for founding the sentimental animal story genre, which he felt featured fabricated events and wild animal behaviors; he even amended the title of the collection to Wild Animals I Alone Have Known.