This is a rambling and ultimately disappointing book. Rats as a microcosm of human history should make a fascinating study, but...they don't. At least, not here. The author seems unable to decide what his book is really about. Is it about his daily observations of rats in an alley in New York? Is it about New York City itself with rats as a vehicle and focal point? Is it about human history in relation to rats? The author jumps randomly between these lines of thought, giving none of them serious attention. One would think that any of these three subjects could fill 220 pages, but instead, the book contains lots of padding - completely unrelated blow-by-blow descriptions of Sullivan's jaunts to various marginally rat-related places and people.

An excerpt:
"I was able to stop in the middle of Union Station and lean back against a wall and watch people as they streamed in and out of train-track exits and entrances, in and out of exits to Chicago's streets, of the entrance and exits to a restaurant also marked with signs indicating areas for ordering food to go versus to stay. I smelled food. I grabbed some."

Pages of this stuff, going nowhere, like a poor travel-writer describing his vacation.

In addition, the author is at pains to tell us that he does not like rats and thinks they're disgusting. He exhibits a strange squeamishness, even after spending many hours watching rats. As someone who does feel a level of compassion and interest in rats as animals, I found his attitude tiresome. He seemed concerned that the audience might actually think he liked his subjects.

If you're interested in rats, give this book a miss. If you're interested in minutia about New York City, you might find some jumping off points for further research.