This fascinating book charts the relationship between Mark Rowlands, a rootless philosopher, and Brenin, his well-traveled wolf. After acquiring Br...
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Aug 22, 2011
Bonnie
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'The Philosopher and the Wolf: Lessons from the Wild on Love, Death and Happiness' was kindly provided to me by Netgalley for Open Road Media.
This book is part memoir, part story of the 11 years spent with his wolf named Brenin and the impression that he made on his life, and part philosophical interpretation of what it means to be human. I can’t claim to be a true lover of Philosophy; however, this book and the author’s writing style kept me engaged. The novels main emphasis tends t More...
This book is part memoir, part story of the 11 years spent with his wolf named Brenin and the impression that he made on his life, and part philosophical interpretation of what it means to be human. I can’t claim to be a true lover of Philosophy; however, this book and the author’s writing style kept me engaged. The novels main emphasis tends t More...
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Jul 29, 2010
Jennifer
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The Philosopher and the Wolf is an astonishing book, both heartbreaking and heart lifting. Mark Rowlands’ experience of living with a wolf leads him to examine what it is to be human. In general biologists write books of this kind, but as Rowlands is a philosopher, his perspective is profoundly original. The book is a memoir of the author’s day-to-day life with a wolf that leads to a meditation on subjects such as human evil and the pursuit of happiness. Above all, this book is a love story t
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Aug 26, 2010
Hazel
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I wasn't sure about this until I got to the second page.
This is also a book about what it means to be human - not as a biological entity but as a creature that can do things no other creatures can. In the stories we tell about ourselves, our uniqueness is a common refrain. According to some, this lies in our ability to create civilization, and so protect ourselves from nature, red in tooth and claw. Others point to the fact that we are the only creatures that can understand the diffeMore...
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Apr 23, 2009
Paul
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This is not a conventionally nice book -- the author can be a crank carrying around a hypertrophied male ego like a sack of bad gas -- nor is it a sentimental book. Forget Marley & Me. It is a confession and a provocation, the story of a rootless young man becoming a better, more responsible, man by loving a wolf. Yes, it's well-written (Rowlands shares a penchant for employing clear, plain prose with fellow philosopher Colin McGinn) and it has a bunch of Big Philosophical Ideas in it, but those
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Feb 07, 2009
Chris
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I'm vacillating between two and three stars on this one, but I think I'll end up with two. There were times, especially in the first half of the book, when Rowland's philosophical musings seemed insightful and original, and his anecdotes about his wolf were interesting and seemed to have a point. But the further along I got, the less focused the book felt. More importantly, I quickly tired of hearing about how crappy "simians" (apes and people) are compared to wolves. Rowland makes val
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Sep 06, 2011
Skostal
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One of the biggest regrets of my college years was not devoting myself fully to a logic/philosophy class I ultimately chose to audit because I was taking 21+ hours and had freaked out after doing poorly on the first exam. (Undue focus on GPA, even though I had no grad school goals. DUH. No logic.) I had, thus, for decades, believed myself incapable of tackling the subject. Enter, stage left, The Philosopher and the Wolf. This book comes via recommendation from the kid running the wine store in A
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Jul 19, 2011
Nicole
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The Philosopher and the Wolf: Lessons From the Wild On Love, Death and Happiness by Mark Rowlands will open your mind and break your heart. Losing a pet is always heart-wrenching, but losing this wolf, Brenin, will move you.
Rowlands writes of his relationship with Brenin, the wolf that he adopted as a pup and raised until his passing. The relationship the two had was truly one-of-a-kind and once-in-a-lifetime. Rowlands tells of what he learned from Brenin and how he was pushed to be More...
Rowlands writes of his relationship with Brenin, the wolf that he adopted as a pup and raised until his passing. The relationship the two had was truly one-of-a-kind and once-in-a-lifetime. Rowlands tells of what he learned from Brenin and how he was pushed to be More...
Jul 03, 2011
Patrícia
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Um dos livros que mais gostei de ler nos últimos tempos. Era mesmo disto que estava a precisar. Um livro diferente, de filosofia, que me fez pensar, reflectir, aprender e rir. Ri muito.
Quem está à espera de um livro do género “Marley e eu” pode esquecer. Não tem nada a ver. Não é fácil de ler, não “bonito”, não é divertido no mesmo sentido.
Mark compra um lobo e sobre as consequências disso. No livro há algumas partes onde Mark conta algumas peripécias e são muito divertidas. Mas o livr More...
Quem está à espera de um livro do género “Marley e eu” pode esquecer. Não tem nada a ver. Não é fácil de ler, não “bonito”, não é divertido no mesmo sentido.
Mark compra um lobo e sobre as consequências disso. No livro há algumas partes onde Mark conta algumas peripécias e são muito divertidas. Mas o livr More...
Jun 10, 2011
Franz
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Easily the best philosophy book I've read in a long time. Accessible to the general reader without compromising rigorous thinking. Partly a memoir of Rowlands' experience living with a wolf adopted as a cub in Alabama and then took with him to live in Ireland and France, Rowlands also reflects on what he learned from Brenin on, for example, the differences and similarities between wolves and primates like humans. A serious look at how a man can co-exist with a wolf that allows both to thrive. Ro
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Apr 28, 2010
Aban (Aby)
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Mark Rowlands, a professor of philosophy, writes both about the eleven or twelve years of his life, from the time he brought home a wolf cub whom he named Brenin until the latter's death. (During that time he also acquired two more dogs: Anna and Tess.)They lived in the USA, Great Britain, and France. Rowlands adored the animals and I thoroughly enjoyed reading about their lives.
Rowlands also weaves his philosophical views into the story. He writes about the nature of intelligence, More...
Rowlands also weaves his philosophical views into the story. He writes about the nature of intelligence, More...
Feb 23, 2010
Mi mania de lector no intelectual, de lector gozoso, empedernido, casi autodestructivo me ha conducido por senderos luminosos y sumamente divertidos. Asi ha sido como me he topado con libros malos, pésimos, maravillosos, espectaculares... la verdad es que me divierto muchisimo leyendo.
En este caso, fue el título el que me atrajo desde el principio; El Filósofo y el Lobo es una referencia a ciertas actitudes que, desde mi muy tierna juventud, me he entretenido en manifestar de una u otra fo More...
En este caso, fue el título el que me atrajo desde el principio; El Filósofo y el Lobo es una referencia a ciertas actitudes que, desde mi muy tierna juventud, me he entretenido en manifestar de una u otra fo More...
Apr 18, 2010
Abailart
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Rowlands lays out early on the difficulties of writing the book, the time it took and a strangeness of memory that was involved. Also, that he isn't sure how the writing came together, how issues, metaphors and ideas folded into each other across chapters, how "Life rarely allows itself to be dealt with and put to bed." It's actually Rowlands' writing exercise and attempt to think about himself that I find the more interesting aspect of the book.
He is a successful professio More...
He is a successful professio More...
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Apr 25, 2009
Daniel
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This realization sometimes strikes me as a faintly surreal discovery. It is not me I remember striding the touchline in Tuscaloosa; it is the wolf that walked beside me. It is not me I remember at the party, it is the wolf that sat beside me and the pretty girls that approached me because of this. It is not me I remember running through the streets of Tuscaloosa or the country lanes of Kinsale; it is the wolves who matched their stride to mine. My memory of myself is always displaced. That I a
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May 09, 2010
Jason
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This is a book with three entwined strands. There is the story of Brenin, the author's wolf: his life and behaviour, and his impact on Rowlands' own life. There are philosophical discussions that spin off from anecdotes about the wolf. And, implicit in both, there is the journey, the pathology, of the misanthropic, solitary man who is telling us all this.
The writing is thoroughly engaging: often humorous, always (so far as one can judge) honest and diligent. Rowlands, philosopher tha More...
The writing is thoroughly engaging: often humorous, always (so far as one can judge) honest and diligent. Rowlands, philosopher tha More...
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Jan 30, 2011
Jenny
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I really liked this book. Rowlands, an academic philosopher, buys a 95% wolf he calls Brenin and most of the book charts their relationship but also uses this to compare species and to decide from this what it is to be human. On the whole, we humans don't come out of it too well - apes who watch each other constantly, waiting for the chance to get some advantage from others whether sexual or otherwise. Although this seems a misanthropic view of humanity (especially for a Quaker to somewhat ag
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Apr 26, 2009
Dean
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Jan 09, 2012
Guilherme
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This is one of the greatest books I've ever read. Rowlands lived for eleven years with his wolf Brenin, and learned things from him that few people could teach. Primates, according to Rowlands (not only to him, many evolutionary scientists say the same) are very good at reading others and taking advantage of it. We, as primates, can use others in our favor, dissimulating and telling lies to get what we want. Other animals, such as wolves, don't have this natural hability. Because of that, they c
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Sep 03, 2011
Gaylene
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I was first attracted to this book by the name of the book and the picture on the front of the book. The author suggests that the picture on the front might be an effort to mimic a classic painting entitled "Lone Wolf". This painting is of a wolf on a mountain looking down at the light shining in a domain below. The longing of the outsider to come inside and visit. Would this outsider ever stay? Would the wolf be able to fit into the life of a philosopher?
The author of t More...
The author of t More...
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Oct 02, 2010
Nick
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A wonderful philosophical treatise on the nature of man/ape versus other animals/wolves, including provocative insights on morality, the meaning of life, and the meaning and role of death. Rowlands' book also acts as a charming autobiography and biographical account of his best friend, the wolf Brenin. This seems to be a key book of Rowlands' to read philosophically, as it is very new and, revealing in Brenin a key contributor to his philosophical ideas, acts as a revisionary work, and one the a
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Jan 14, 2010
Ilze
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If you're an intellectual, you'll enjoy this book. There's a section in it where Rowlands goes into the intricacies of a thought (as only a philosopher could do!), in this he has broadened my thoughts. He's not a Christian (or 'a believer', as he puts it), which makes you wonder if his philosophies on "love, death and happiness" - to echo the title - would be different if he was. His witty writing style and the fact that I have an interest in wolves/dogs and keeping them happy, left me
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Jun 28, 2010
Tim
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This book was recommended to me and it is quite an amazing read. I am no more of a philosopher than the average person I suppose, I certainly haven't studied it in any depth but this book does help me understand something about the way people are. It also makes me realise that I am probably more of a wolf than an ape. But if you find it tricky to understand why people are the way they are and what the hell drives them to do the things that they do this may very well provide some insight. It isn
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Aug 19, 2009
Jess
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A fascinating story about a man's relationship with his pet wolf that's really about the relationship between man (as in "hu") and wolves (as in "animals"). What elevates the book is Rowland's ability --- thanks to his academic training --- to put relatively quotidian issues like pet training, life plans, and even where to eat dinner each night into a larger philosophical context. The result is much less syrupy and self-helpy than it sounds; it's nothing short of a primer abo
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May 19, 2011
Katie
rated it:
An interesting tale of a more than a little eccentric academic who buys a wolf cub on a whim and the changes to his life resulting from this. I found the parts about wolf psychology and the pack mentality fascinating and his withdrawal from human society was diverting.
However, the parts which essentially boiled down to the moral superiority of Apes over Wolves didn't chime with me, plus I wasn't always convinced by some of his arguments some of which you could drive a humvee through More...
However, the parts which essentially boiled down to the moral superiority of Apes over Wolves didn't chime with me, plus I wasn't always convinced by some of his arguments some of which you could drive a humvee through More...
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May 20, 2011
Alesa
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There many parts of this book that I really loved, especially those describing the author's relationship with his wolf. Many of these reminded me of my wolf-dog, King, who exhibited many of the same behaviors. The parts on philosophy were okay; maybe my mind just wasn't in the right place for them. There some some places where the author seemed to be bragging, about things like how handsome or fit he was; those could have been edited out. The author is quite a strange man, but a remarkably d
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Jan 06, 2012
Dionisia
rated it:
The best thing about this book had nothing to do with the author's contribution. I was visiting with a friend's family in Ireland and her stepdad was nice enough to let me borrow his copy. I could see all the red scribbles, circles, underlines, and notations he made throughout the book as I read. It can be fun to follow the leave-behinds of a previous reader. He clearly enjoyed the book more than I did. It wasn't a bad book per se...I just found it really difficult to relate to the author.
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Aug 03, 2011
Laurie
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I just reviewed this book on my blog. The review begins:
"The eleven years philosophy professor Mark Rowlands spent with Brenin the wolf at his side profoundly impacted his life. He came to see himself less as an owner or guardian to the animal than as his brother—generally older, but sometimes younger, depending on the lesson learned, and which of them learned it."
To read the review in its entirety, please click here. More...
"The eleven years philosophy professor Mark Rowlands spent with Brenin the wolf at his side profoundly impacted his life. He came to see himself less as an owner or guardian to the animal than as his brother—generally older, but sometimes younger, depending on the lesson learned, and which of them learned it."
To read the review in its entirety, please click here. More...
Dec 28, 2011
Oceana2602
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"The Philosopher and the Wolf" is, you guessed it, the story of a philosopher and his wolf. Oh, I was wary of this book. I admit quite frankly that I would never have bought it myself: I am deeply convinced that no one should ever own a wolf, let alone attempt to live with one as a pet.
A wolf is not a pet.
Period.
(I was right about that)
I'm also convinced, though not quite as deeply, that people who call themselves philosophers should not More...
A wolf is not a pet.
Period.
(I was right about that)
I'm also convinced, though not quite as deeply, that people who call themselves philosophers should not More...
Feb 19, 2009
Kay
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
Dec 18, 2011
Chris
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A very engaging book, The Philosopher and the Wolf is a personal reflection by a professional philosopher on the nature of love, death, and happiness, through the prism of his life with a full-blooded wolf, which he bought as a pup on a whim. An alcoholic, and self-described misanthrope, Rowlands finds himself spending more and more time alone with Brenin, and this leads him into an inquiry into what it means to be an ape (essentially, a liar), the nature of evil, the experience of time, and the
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Nov 29, 2010
mstan
rated it:
An accessible 'beginner's philosophy'-type book (much better than Sophie's World), revolving around the life and times of a wonderful wolf, Brenin, with his owner, Mark Rowlands himself.
Quite unlike schmaltzy books about animals that romanticise man's relationship with their pets and encourage you to run out to get a dog/hamster/rabbit/iguana immediately, Rowlands's memoir actually makes its reader feel quite unequal to the task of managing the intense relationship between a human and More...
Quite unlike schmaltzy books about animals that romanticise man's relationship with their pets and encourage you to run out to get a dog/hamster/rabbit/iguana immediately, Rowlands's memoir actually makes its reader feel quite unequal to the task of managing the intense relationship between a human and More...
