World History and Myths of Cats

by Elli Kohen

Kohen (biology, U. of Miami-Coral Gables, Florida) eschews scientific and scholarly rigor to offer a wide ranging if unsystematic survey of tales and beliefs. Among his categories are Bubastis (Egypt), India, Buddhists, Mohammed, the Roman de Renart (European trickster fox), the Templars, the tale of Madame D'Aulnoy, Hungary and Rumania, Burma, Africa, the Lynx, the USA (from native to his own), and Latin American and Spanish folklore. To take one his treatment of cat myths among the British Druids and the Celts draws primarily from an 1809 publication and repeats assumptions, interpretations, and even specific translations that have been refuted for nearly two centuries. Devotees, of either cats or cat lore, will be no more deterred by such matters as by fleas or clawed furniture. Annotation (c) Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

389 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2003