Living With Dickens, by Tom Bianchi, © 1993 by Tom Bianchi, Published by St. Martin's Press, ISBN 0-312-08765-9. Reviewed by H. Edgar Hix

I love books of pictures. Photography or art reproductions. We have five histories of art primarily because I like the pictures.

Black and white photos are, I think, more capable of artistic feeling than color. This collection of pictures of the photographer's cat, Dickens, is black and white. What I love is the naturalness of the photos. If they are posed, they are posed masterfully. (Okay, page 48, "Just Take the Picture," is obviously posed, but it's meant to be obviously posed.) A house cat cannot help but be cute. It is in their nature. It is in our nature. So, many of these photos are cute. But, they are cute not because the cat is being idealized but because you've seen your cat do everything in the book and you've wished you would have had a camera and known how to really take the picture. Mr. Bianchi did, on both counts.

No One Noticed the Cat, by Anne McCaffrey, © Anne McCaffrey, 1996, Published by ROC. Reviewed by H. Edgar Hix

No One Noticed the Cat is a pleasant fantasy for the adult or child. It's the story of young Prince Jamas, who is given a cat by his dying mentor. Niffy, the cat, is a supernatural creature who very quietly goes about making sure that Prince Jamas's ascension to the throne goes according to plan, i.e. that the Prince will live through it and rule his kingdom well. The book has good intrigue, a nice little romance, and some exciting daring do. There is enough violence that some parents may feel this book is inappropriate for their youngest children, but there's a lot less than they're seeing on t.v. I strongly recommend this short fantasy. It shows again that Ms. McCaffrey is not only a master of the adult fantasy and science fiction genre, but children's fantasy, as well. Don't let that "children's" throw you off, though. My wife and I have no children and we both thoroughly enjoy this novel.

The Tribe of Tiger, by Elizabeth Marshall Thomas, © 1994 by Elizabeth Marshall Thomas 1993 Irrevocable Trust, Published by Simon & Schuster, ISBN: 0-671-79965-7. Reviewed by H. Edgar Hix

For he is of the Tribe of Tiger                                  
For the Cherub Cat is a term of the Angel Tiger.

-- Christopher Smart

I have a favorite book about cats. The Tribe of Tiger is it. Dr. Thomas is the only writer I've read who convinces me she has some serious notion of what is going on behind those shiny eyes. As a trained scientist, Dr. Thomas has studied both the common house cat and the rest of the cat family. Her insights about lions were of particular interest to me, even though lions themselves are far from my favorite cat. Because of the honesty of this book, readers who don't like to be reminded that their little loves are also little carnivores and animals who neither think nor act in accordance with our often anthropomorphic views of them should not read this book. Julie, for example, has never read it. There are parts of their nature she does not want to be reminded of. I have no problem with that. Love is blind and, it I might add, would probably be nonexistent if it weren't.

Dr. Thomas doesn't just "stick to the facts," however. She gives many delightful and some terrifying personal experiences. She relates adventures with lions and her own cats. She occasionally even moves into the spiritual side of cats. Her opinions and mine in this area are far from in total agreement, but they are interesting reading and make one pause and think. They have, in fact, altered my views somewhat.

Finally, let me comment that Jared Taylor Williams produced some wonderful pin-and-ink drawings to illustrate this book.

Zen for Cats, "intuited by Alfred Birnbaum and Riku Kanmei, illustrations by J.C. Brown", © 1993 by Alfred Birnbaum and Elmer Luke, Published by Weatherhill, ISBN: 0-8348-0275-9. Reviewed by H. Edgar Hix

My wife gave me this as a present. While I have enough knowledge of Zen to write haiku, the purchase was primarily for the illustrations. The writing is, for me, at times confusing. In fact, the chapters "Zen Fish, Zen Bones" and "Raking Sand" are completely meaningless to me. Someone more interested in Zen will, I'm sure, get much more of the humor.

The ink brush drawings, however! The drawings are hilarious, gently comic, and sometimes heartwarming. My favorite is the one for "One coat of fur sheds everywhere." "Attainment," with the cat happily asleep on his "master's" head, is another great one. These and other drawings more than make up for the adequate text.