A Farley Mowat Reader

by Farley Mowat

A Farley Mowat Reader is an excellent introduction to one of Canada's most adventurous writers, with selections from seven of Mowat's best-known books, from The Dog Who Wouldn't Be, first published in 1957, to Aftermath: Travels in a Post-War World, published in 1995. In between, there are excerpts from Mowat classics including Owls in the Family, Never Cry Wolf, and The Boat Who Wouldn't Float, as well as his more recent autobiographical works including Born Naked and My Father's Son. Editor Wendy Thomas uses her selections to give readers new to Mowat a taste of the range and variety of his writing, emphasizing his droll humour, insightful eye, and storyteller's gift of gab. Moving chronologically also gives readers a chance to see the different directions that Mowat has taken as a writer, and it is especially interesting to see him moving from the delightfully witty fictional reminiscence of his childhood dog, Mutt, in The Dog Who Wouldn't Be, to a more sombre and poignant look at his life in the excerpts from Born Naked, My Father's Son, and Aftermath. Richard Row's black-and-white illustrations add further drama to Mowat's text. --Jeffrey Canton

192 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 1997

About the author

Farley McGill Mowat was a conservationist and one of Canada's most widely-read authors.

Many of his most popular works have been memoirs of his childhood, his war service, and his work as a naturalist. His works have been translated into 52 languages and he has sold more than 14 million books.

Mowat studied biology at the University of Toronto. During a field trip to the Arctic, Mowat became outraged at the plight of the Ihalmiut, a Caribou Inuit band, which he attributed to misunderstanding by whites. His outrage led him to publish his first novel, People of the Deer (1952). This book made Mowat into a literary celebrity and was largely responsible for the shift in the Canadian government's Inuit policy: the government began shipping meat and dry goods to a people they previously denied existed.

The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society ship RV Farley Mowat was named in honour of him, and he frequently visited it to assist its mission.

Reviews

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good overview of his writings, each entry kept concise enough not to wear out it's welcome. The description of a fin whale trapped in a Newfoundland lake was enough to make me dig up a copy of A Whale for the Killing to read in it's entirety, but for the most part I'm content with what was here.

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read the first half, found the stories becoming increasingly tedious and skimmed the second half. I can only take so much of nature stories, no matter how well written.