The Bedside Book of Beasts: A Wildlife Miscellany

This stunning companion to the internationally bestsellingBedside Book of Birdsexplores the relationship between predators and their prey. The intricate, complex connection between the hunter and the hunted has defined animal life on Earth throughout time.In The Bedside Book of Beasts, Graeme Gibson gathers from all eras and cultures works of art and literature that capture the power, grace, and inventiveness of both predators and their natural prey. Here are myths, fables, poetry, generous excerpts from nature and travel writing, journals, sacred texts, and works of fiction. There are vivid descriptions of noteworthy predators including the big cats, bears, wolves but also the small but voracious praying mantis. Gibson also brings to life the experiences, strategies, and emotions of vulnerable prey, and paints intriguing portraits of such legendary evil beasts as the Minotaur, Grendel, and the Biblical Leviathan. All of this is enhanced by a breathtaking array of art, both traditional and contemporary, as well as scientific, religious, and mythological drawings, paintings, and woodcuts. InThe Bedside Book of BeastsGibson evokes a profound sense of the eternal, often unsettling, connection between the human animal and the free, untamed beasts of the wilderness.

Graeme Gibson is the acclaimed author of The Bedside Book of Birds, Five Legs, Perpetual Motion, and Gentleman Death. He is a past president of PEN Canada and the recipient of both the Harbourfront Festival Prize and the Toronto Arts Award, and is a member of the Order of Canada. Gibson has been a council member of World Wildlife Fund Canada and is chairman of the Pelee Island Bird Observatory. He is a recipient of the Writers’ Trust Prize for Distinguished Contribution (2008), and is currently Joint Honorary President, with Margaret Atwood, of BirdLife International’s Rare Bird Club. He lives in Toronto.