Hornaday's American NATURAL HISTORY: A Foundation of Useful Knowledge of the Higher Animals of North America. 14th Edition.

by William T. Hornaday

Hardcover

Published January 1, 1927

About the author

From Wikipedia:
William Temple Hornaday, Sc.D. was an American zoologist, conservationist, taxidermist, and author. He served as the first director of the New York Zoological Park, known today as the Bronx Zoo, and he was a pioneer in the early wildlife conservation movement in the United States.

Reviews

[Shaydy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is not exactly a reliable tome on "useful knowledge" due to its publication year and highly opinionated writing, primarily regarding behavior (boring or evil) and appearance (ugly or breathtaking). It unfortunately also prioritizes economics and hunting over biology and social behaviors. However, it successfully achieves its stated goal of engaging the reader with humorous anecdotes and personified descriptions of animals they’ve likely already seen or heard. For a textbook, it is highly readable.

A few of Hornaday’s opinions:
-The mole is a victim of a skewed justice system
-Wolves cheerfully descend to all depths of meanness, treachery and cruelty
-The front dorsal fin is a sign of proper moral character
-The head of the common turkey vulture is naked for professional reasons
-Birds of prey should not be killed under any circumstances, unless they nibble at crops or kill songbirds, in which case they should be eviscerated from this earth