Reviews for Meditations with Animals: A Native American Bestiary

The average rating for Meditations with Animals: A Native American Bestiary based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2012-07-21 00:00:00 Frank Gladden Practical and simplistic view of Southern and Southwestern views of natives and their relationship to the earth and animals. The meditations were rather useful to me. Hausman, being of German heritage, also shares some native blood. His chants explained in this book simplified some of the myths that can be very complex for others to understand if not also bourne of native heritage. I enjoyed the page and a half draft of the perspective shared at the end of this book and drafted by Dr. Michael W. Fox regarding the cultural and societal impacts of losing touch with the earth and animals. This book is a personal antidote but appreciated nonetheless as but one way to view relationships with the natural world.

Review # 2 was written on 2013-01-06 00:00:00 Robin Armstrong Patton's premise, that there is a fundamental tie between religious and societal views of the ocean as a receptacle for catharsis, be it pollution or sin, is interesting and well-supported. We believe that the ocean's characteristics, namely its size, turbulence, depth, etc., allow it to swallow up all of humanities sins (or waste) ("the solution to pollution is dilution"). Of course, now we are finding that this is not true. My major qualm with this book is that although the premise is well-developed, it never takes the next step towards implications. It seems like half a book, which is why I cannot bring myself to rate it higher...