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Predators I Have Known
An adrenaline-fueled travel memoir of life in the wild among the planet’s most ferocious and fascinating predators
Over the last forty years, bestselling science-fiction writer Alan Dean Foster has journeyed around the globe to encounter nature’s most fearsome creatures. His travels have taken him into the heart of the Amazon rain forest on the trail of deadly tangarana ant...more
Over the last forty years, bestselling science-fiction writer Alan Dean Foster has journeyed around the globe to encounter nature’s most fearsome creatures. His travels have taken him into the heart of the Amazon rain forest on the trail of deadly tangarana ant...more
Kindle Edition
Published
(first published February 22nd 2011)
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Predators I Have Known is a non-fiction outing for sci-fi writer, Alan Dean Foster, in which he regales us with tales of his encounters with the predators of the natural world. From diving with great whites to outrunning ants, the writing is at its best when he is obviously passionate about the subject matter.
Unfortunately, the day to day travelogue anecdotes are clumsy and a little boring. We don’t need to know the details of how he got to the places where he saw the predators, especially when...more
Unfortunately, the day to day travelogue anecdotes are clumsy and a little boring. We don’t need to know the details of how he got to the places where he saw the predators, especially when...more
A compelling read filled with sparkling prose about the author's adventures outside his culture and comfort zone encountering predators around the world and even in his own yard. Rich in detail with a good sense of self-deprecation mixed with genuine cultural and animal insight, Foster herein challenges all of us to live a little more bravely than we might so that we can write better, understand better, and experience the world better. Truly inspiring. I couldn't put it down.
Have you ever wonder...more
Have you ever wonder...more
Alan Dean Foster, a science fiction writer, documents his world adventures to see exotic animals. From sharks to tarantulas, leeches to lions, and from Arizona to Botswana, he tells stories of close encounters and makes observations about animal and human interactions. His prose is a bit clumsy, as if he were practicing writing for his novels-- which, for a science fiction writer, travel and strange animals make great practice. I found his attitude a bit pompous, as when he rescues a fellow scub...more
Alan Dean Foster is a science fiction author - this however is a series of essays and observations about his real life encounters within the jungles and waters of our world. I learned valuable life lessons:
1. Never rub the chest of a cheetah just because your own cats like being rubbed on the chest.
2. Never, ever, ever, ever bother ants in the jungle. Ever. Unfortunately, if you happen across driver ants, you run. Really fast. Across their path. You're going to get bit. Also: don't fall.
3. Co...more
1. Never rub the chest of a cheetah just because your own cats like being rubbed on the chest.
2. Never, ever, ever, ever bother ants in the jungle. Ever. Unfortunately, if you happen across driver ants, you run. Really fast. Across their path. You're going to get bit. Also: don't fall.
3. Co...more
I have to preface my review of this book by telling you guys that I am boring and unsophisticated and I know it. The thing is, I hate travelling. I don't want to go backpacking through Europe or walk through the rainforests or hike giant mountains. I mean, Europe would be nice, but I'd like to see it via luxury hotels and maybe some spa treatments. The thought of site-seeing makes me get a little twitchy. Which is why I love travel books, especially travel books dealing with exotic locales and l...more
My Review: This was a fascinating and eloquently written piece by a daring (shall I say slightly foolish) world traveler. Encountering beasts of all size, shape, color, and potential threat- this man has spent many days and nights in the presence of undomesticated wilderness. From leeches and spiders to great whites and rampaging elephants, this is a fast-paced, informative book that makes me want to travel the world and see all its beauty (and beasts). Touche, Mr. Foste
The mostly undeclared focus of the book is how all of these encounters have influenced his writing; he spends almost as much time talking about how it feels to know you can be eaten/killed/completely ignored by something as he does talking about the animals themselves. He doesn't explicitly talk about what events inspired what novels until the last chapter but you can see hints and references throughout if you're familiar with his books.
You can also see the roots of some of the ecological/enviro...more
You can also see the roots of some of the ecological/enviro...more
This was an OK read. He talks about some interesting events, and of course he's a good writer, but he has an annoying habit of comparing things to characters or events in old movies. So if you're an old movie buff, you'll get the references... if not, you'll be jerked out of the narrative. I'd borrow this one from the library.
Foster is pretty self-congratulatory about his travels and adventures with dangerous predators, but I can give him a pass, as he has gone out of his way to experience the world in ways that few people have ever tried. And he does make some great points about environmental tourism. Now, if he just wouldn't sound so smug...
3 1/2 stars for this well-written and witty collection of tales describing wildlife encountered during the globe-trotting author's adventure-travels. Although entertaining (and educational), the frequent references to Foster's sci-fi novels (a genre I neither understand nor appreciate) were lost on me.
Thoroughly amusing accounts of the authors travels across the world, and the various kinds of animals he has encountered. He has a really funny style and turn of phrase that had me grinning at times.
Really interesting and well-written. I wish he wrote more non-fiction about the natural world and his travels, because I really am not into his genre of fiction.
This was a perfect read to kick off the summer. Although in retrospect I found most of his animal encounters to be pretty tame, the author's writing and story telling skills were excellent and made his adventures engaging to read.
these amazing stories were further enhanced by the fact that i know alan personally. i have only gotten to hear a few of these tales directly from him. this was awesome.
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Bestselling science fiction writer Alan Dean Foster was born in New York City in 1946, but raised mainly in California. He received a B.A. in Political Science from UCLA in 1968, and a M.F.A. in 1969. Foster lives in Arizona with his wife, but he enjoys traveling because it gives him opportunities to meet new people and explore new places and cultures. This interest is carried over to his writing,...more
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