Rating: 
Summary: Delightful
Review: I never liked cats very much until my boyfriend got one. And then I was introduced to their odd idiosyncracies and bizaare habits. My boyfriend lent me this book and I really couldn't put it down. It's hard to believe that one cat could live such a fulfilling life with such adventures (and live to tell about them).
Christopher Wren is a gifted writer. A journalist by trade, he's able to give wonderful details about the exotic locations his family and their cat lived in. And it's obvious he and Henrietta shared a special bond because he was able to glean from her enough insight to bring her personality to life. Paris, Rome, Egypt and New York, friendly neighbors to distinguished ambassadors, it's all in there. If only humans can live half the life this cat did!
Rating:
Summary: Delightful
Review: I never liked cats very much until my boyfriend got one. And then I was introduced to their odd idiosyncracies and bizaare habits. My boyfriend lent me this book and I really couldn't put it down. It's hard to believe that one cat could live such a fulfilling life with such adventures (and live to tell about them).
Christopher Wren is a gifted writer. A journalist by trade, he's able to give wonderful details about the exotic locations his family and their cat lived in. And it's obvious he and Henrietta shared a special bond because he was able to glean from her enough insight to bring her personality to life. Paris, Rome, Egypt and New York, friendly neighbors to distinguished ambassadors, it's all in there. If only humans can live half the life this cat did!
Rating: 
Summary: Not charmed at all
Review: I'm glad I'm not the only one who was taken aback by this book. First, as a long-time cat owner, I find it hard to fathom that any feline would enjoy being shipped, time and time again, to new and frequently inhospitable locations; Henrietta would have to have been *very* unusual. And the Wrens manage to lose her in Cairo (somehow, she finds them again), then dump her off with relatives for a year when she becomes inconvenient. Another reviewer mentioned the atrocious "since I'm an investigative reporter, I forced myself to eat cat in a Chinese restaurant, and it was kind of tasty" anecdote. It's really miraculous Henrietta lived as long as she did.
Rating: 
Summary: Not particularly interesting or amusing
Review: I'm sorry, but the anecdotes in this book are not nearly as interesting or amusing as the premise would suggest. The stories are generally along the lines of "my cat sat on Andropov's lap" or "my cat ate from KGB trash cans." And more of the same. Sorry, although this sounds like such an adorable book, it does not live up to expectations.
Rating: 
Summary: Never take kitty litter for granted
Review: Since our own two cats hate even riding in a car, it was with envy and admiration that I read THE CAT WHO COVERED THE WORLD, the globetrotting adventures of Henrietta and her foreign correspondent owner.As a writer for the New York Times, Christopher Wren and his family lived abroad in such widely separated cities as Moscow, Cairo, Beijing, Ottawa and Johannesburg. Accompanying them everywhere over her 18-year lifespan was Henrietta, the family feline, herself a native of New York City. Amazingly adaptable, Henrietta coped with airplane baggage holds, Nile River rats, Hadeda ibises, African ants, a People's Liberation Army veterinarian, and a scarcity of kitty litter. At the same time, she developed a taste for caviar, cockroaches, yellow fish, cabbage, prosciutto, sturgeon, herbal tea bags, and gongbao jiding. Considering the timespan and distances covered, this book is relatively short at 200 pages. The devotion and affection that the Wren family has for their furry pal is striking, as when Chris drags a 26-pound sack of cat litter home to litterless Beijing from Hong Kong. Or the distress the family feels when Henrietta goes missing for several weeks in Cairo. Though sometimes Chris lapses into a newsreporter's matter-of-factual style, the humor and poignancy of life with Kitty in exotic places always shows through. For example, in bed after being assaulted by Soviet security goons, Chris writes: "And then I felt something hop softly on the bed. I opened my eyes and saw Henrietta ... She liked to curl up with the children and (wife) Jaqueline, but had never seen fit to favor me with such a visit ... Then I heard her purr. I reached down and lightly caressed the soft fur along her neck. She snuggled in tighter until my sore mouth and gut no longer throbbed. There is something consoling about stoking a pet when you feel frightened and alone. For the first time, it was clear that Henrietta and I belonged together." I've not been worked over by Red thugs. However, as I write this, my cat Trouble is perched on the back of my chair close to my neck ...purring. Yeah, I can relate.
Rating:
Summary: mollygirls review
Review: the cat who coverd the world is an amusing tale about a foriegn corespondent and his cat Hennrieta. The travels of hennrieta are ammusing and you will enjoy it if you like cats and even if you dont.From Moscow to cairo youll laugh at this cat and her mischevious adventures.
Rating:
Summary: Worldwide Cat
Review: There are plenty of fine books of appreciation for a particular dog, but, given the nature of cats, there is understandably less literature in their praise. The best book I have read celebrating a particular cat is _The Cat Who Covered the World: The Adventures of Henrietta and Her Foreign Correspondent_ (Simon & Schuster) by Christopher S. Wren. Wren was a foreign correspondent for _The New York Times_, but when he wrote his first article about traveling the world with the family cat, he got more response than he did for any news articles. He acquired Henrietta as a gray ball of fluff because the person giving kittens away was giving a bottle of Scotch away with each one. Henrietta went with the Wren family to Egypt, China, Moscow, Canada, South Africa, and elsewhere. The book tells of the difficulties of finding her the right food, or kitty litter, or of getting her through customs; but it also shows how in a family which traveled everywhere together, Henrietta became a movable symbol of hearth and home. A fine book for anyone who likes cats, _The Cat Who Covered the World_ is also a memorable portrait of a loving family in unusual environments, and of amusing and frustrating clashes of culture. Wren is a good story teller, and has a wealth of tales about his cat, whom he obviously loved, and her extraordinary life. Charming.
Rating:
Summary: If only people were as smart as cats
Review: This is a wonderful book. Obviously, I have cats . . . . . or cats have me, as the case may be. My opinion is based on living with cats, which enables me to judge Wren's assessments on the basis of shared experience. Wren truly knows cats, and obviously Henrietta was able to sum up his qualities quite neatly and with a beautiful sense of humour. It reflects the inner and deeper qualities of Times reporters. Ostensibly, this book is about travels with a cat. If that sounds strange, think of John Steinbeck's Travels With Charlie after years of his writing semi-intelligible crap about the great issues of mankind in general and America in particular. Some of Steinbeck's sorriest writing came when he was trying to be most relevant, such as his World War II novel The Moon Is Down. His best writing came when he wrote as a reporter, from The Grapes of Wrath to Travels With Charlie. Wren is a great reporter, and this book reflects the habits and attitudes of people in the various countries where he was a correspondent. It's one thing to talk of Soviet bureaucracy, and South African Afrikaaner blind arrogance, or Canada's silly nationalism; but, when Wren describes such attitudes when dealing with his cat, the peccadilloes of various cultures becomes glaring in their absurdity. As a Canadian, I can attest to his experiences in taking Henrietta to Ottawa as a classic portrayal of Canadian silliness (which I have encountered at the border). When the The New York Times posted Wren to Canada, the following dialogue occurred: INSPECTOR: What are you doing in Canada ? ME: I'm covering it for The New York Times. INSPECTOR: Why can't your job be filled by a Canadian ? Touche. Wren is skilled at presenting such inanities throughout the world, often prompted by his experiences of traveling and living with his cat in various countries. The usual journalistic practice is to write dead-serious "thumb-suckers," those long introspective articles that probe, analyze and explain the inner meanings of esoteric issues. But, such articles have much greater impact when they can be explained in terms of an analogy, which is the accomplishment Wren manages superbly in this book. As Wren sums up, Henrietta was "an ordinary cat who thrived on extraordinary adventures." We all live like that. It's just that Wren is able to express it so succinctly. Sometimes we just need to look at ourselves through the eyes of a cat in order to understand. Writing such as this book is what makes The New York Times the finest newspaper in this nation. Sadly, it also illustrates a great weakness of the Times. Every day, The Wall Street Journal offers in its middle column on page 1 stories such as those in this book - - - and they invariable explain the world in far better terms than most of the "thumb-suckers" that plague so-called "serious" journalism. Hopefully, someday an editor as the Times will read Wren's book and ask, "Why can't we get our reporters to write stories like this ?" and then, it will slowly dawn that "We do have reporters like this, we just stifle their creativity." So, until "the old gray lady" learns to appreciate the superb talent of its reporters who can produce books like these . . . . . well, you'll just have to buy books like this. You won't find many that are any better in terms of explaining the human condition. It is a wonderful book.
Rating:
Summary: Henrietta is adorable!!!!
Review: This is one of the best books I have ever read! Henrietta is a purrfect feline, and her humans are witty and amusing. I think this is a really really good book for cat lovers and for those who are curious about the world.
Rating: 
Summary: Good book for cat lovers...
Review: When my local bookclub picked this book for our monthly selection, I wasn't sure what to think. I mean, how much discussion can be generated by a cat book? Thankfully I am a die-hard cat fan, so at least I'll have some funny cat stories to share. The Cat Who Covered the World tells the true of story of New York Times Foreign Correspondent (and author), Christopher Wren, as he travels around the world with the family cat in tow. Not a born cat-lover, Chris took his time warming up to Henrietta. Eventually, however, she became an integral part of the family. And when Chris was dispatched to his first overseas assignment, Henrietta was sure to tag along. This book paints a sweet picture of a man just doing his job and the cat who made it bearable for 18 years. As for the book itself, it's cute. The writing is for the most part simple, but I did tend to get a bit confused when the author reminisces about certain political happenings in the countries he lived in. If you're not up on your foreign history, be forewarned! However, the story as a whole is good; the cat, Henrietta, is a very endearing and sweet character, and I see much of her in my own two cats; and the different countries discussed will allow the reader to do some armchair traveling of their own. I recommend this book as a quick weekend read, but I believe it was written solely for the cat lover. All others may not find it as endearing or sweet, or may not relate to the relationship between author and family pet.
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