Who would have guessed that one of the great historian’s passions in life is cats? Over the course of his eighty-two years, and from his birthplace in Dawson City, Yukon, to his home in Kleinburg, Ontario, Berton has known and loved many cats. In this charming collection of stories, he has chosen his best cat tales to share with us. Pierre Berton is a master storyteller, and his lyrical writing and sense of pacing and adventure enliven this collection, making it irresistible to any cat lover. The book opens with the adventure of Pousse-Pousse, the cat with extra toes, who was carried off by a Great Horned Owl and, seven months later, reappeared at the door, bedraggled but alive. Pierre Berton’s first cat was Happy, a kitten the teenage Pierre spied in a pet store window “free to a good home.” It was Depression-era Victoria, and the Bertons barely had enough to feed themselves. Still, they kept Happy, and she produced scores of kittens over the years. There are stories of stray cats and “hobo cats,” beloved cartoon cats like Felix and Krazy Kat, and finally, “Rules for Guests,” which includes the following: “No discussion is so intense, no story so riveting, that it can’t be interrupted when a cat enters the room.” This beautifully designed small-format gift book is illustrated with line drawings by Pierre Berton, photographs, and coloured endpapers.

"This book is a sharing of the experiences that the author and his wife have had with some of the cats they came to know over the past thirty years. It is at times humorous, at times sad, occasionally informative and always interesting because of the furry spirits who occupy center stage. Cat lovers, and even people who have never come to know a cat, will find the anecdotes and photographs contained within absorbing because of the little creatures wearing fur coats who they will meet. And, for the cat lovers among you, these extraordinary animals will rekindle bittersweet remembrances of cats you have known."

The New York Times bestseller that helps you explore whether romance is in the stars. Linda Goodman’s Love Signs addresses the question asked by everyone familiar with astrology: How do I relate to someone of another sign? Each sign is “related” to the twelve signs of the zodiac in a different and unique way. Each section addresses the differences for a male and a female with the same sign matches. This is an updated edition of Linda Goodman’s lively bestseller, which has introduced millions to the concept of astrological compatibility. “What seems to set Goodman’s books apart from other stargazing guides is their knowledgeable approach and comprehensive reach.” —Newsweek

Kathleen Kete's wise and witty examination of petkeeping in nineteenth-century Paris provides a unique window through which to view the lives of ordinary French people. She demonstrates how that cliché of modern life, the family dog, reveals the tensions that modernity created for the Parisian bourgeoisie. Kete's study draws on a range of literary and archival sources, from dog-care books to veterinarians's records to Dumas's musings on his cat. The fad for aquariums, attitudes toward vivisection, the dread of rabies, the development of dog breeding—all are shown to reflect the ways middle-class people thought about their lives. Petkeeping, says Kete, was a way to imagine a better, more manageable version of the world—it relieved the pressures of contemporary life and improvised solutions to the intractable mesh that was post-Enlightenment France. The faithful, affectionate family dog became a counterpoint to the isolation of individualism and lack of community in urban life. By century's end, however, animals no longer represented the human condition with such potency, and even the irascible, autonomous cat had been rehabilitated into a creature of fidelity and affection. Full of fascinating details, this innovative book will contribute to the way we understand culture and the creation of class. This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1994.

The cat really did that? You’ll recognize your own cat in this entertaining collection of stories about the surprising, amusing, heartwarming things that our cats do. From cats that save lives to cats with nine lives—from cats that repair families to cats that wreck houses—from cats that crack us up to cats that act like therapists—you’ll see your own cat with new appreciation for its unique skills and intuition. With a special emphasis on the benefits and joys of adopting abandoned cats, black cats, senior cats, and all the other cats that get left behind, these stories may even motivate you to visit your local shelter. And your purchase of this book will help support the important, life-saving work of American Humane!