Rating: 
Summary: I read it through in one evening
Review: I've known Bill for a number of years and we've usually talked about insects and politics (no further comment). At a party a couple of years age, Bill started talking about his cats and how he'd discovered the emotional depth and intelligence of cats that was beyond anything he had imagined. I had recently had a similar experience and we spent the whole evening in cat talk. I've been waiting for this book since that evening and I wasn't disappointed! I wasn't able to put it down! Bill's writing is a pleasure to read and the book is a love story with all of the joy and pain that comes with an emotional commitment to another creature - human or otherwise. If you're already an animal lover, this story will bring you smiles and tears. If you've never had a deep emotional attachment to an animal, Darwin's story will bring you a understanding of how such a relationship can develop in human terms and, perhaps, encourage you to explore...
Rating: 
Summary: A study in cruelty
Review: If you want to read a book about Jordan's cruel treatment of his cats, Darwin and Hoover, this is the book to read. Only about one third of the book was about Darwin, the rest was his "analysis" of the human mind from his biological standpoint. Very boring. And the writings about Darwin were often infused with what I thought was his cruel treatment of cats. He describes how in his past he used animals in experiments, because that's what biologists do, yet he now claims to be an animal lover. Then in his book he describes in detail how he shot a cat with a high-powered slingshot and later trapped him and left him overnight in the trap in order to drop the cat off at the local pound. Then when he decides to keep the cat, he has an incident with the cat (totally his fault), corners him in a closet and sprays him over and over in the face with water. I could barely finish the book, so if you love cats at all, please do not waste your money. You will be disappointed and sickend by how he shows his "love" of cats. If I could have given the book no stars, I would have.
Rating:
Summary: Cat Darwion
Review: Jordan has written a truly courageous, very human account of how a cat stole its way into his heart. In the process Cat Darwin taught Jordan many things about life, love and caring. Darwin's messages did not fall on deaf ears or before blind eyes. Jordan observed himself and his cat with the eyes of a scientist. He analyzed behaviors from various points of view... biological, philosophical, historical, all with a delightful sense of humor. Jordan changed. Then he wrote about how and why he changed, each step of the way. 'A Cat Named Darwin' shines as a primer on using the scientific method for personal change and growth. Lisa Doyen
Rating: 
Summary: Just read the first 50 pages.
Review: The author discovered in middle age what it means to love and be loved by a cat. His description of how he met Darwin, how he came to love Darwin, and how the relationship gave him his humanity in the first part of the book was compelling and enlightening reading. About a quarter through the book, the author describes how he discovered that Darwin had feline leukemia, a fatal disease. The remainder of the book turns more and more maudlin and cloying. Those of us who have lived with and loved animals all of our lives realize that small mammals have a relatively short lifespan. To love a cat or dog carries the almost certainty of heartache and loss. This is something we accept as a price to pay for years of rewarding relationship. However, it is new to the author. He describes the pathos in excruciating detail for page after weepy page. If you like over the top mawkish melodrama and soap opera, buy this book. Otherwise, wait until you see it in a bargain bin or borrow it from a library.
Rating: 
Summary: Loved the cat stuff!
Review: The authors observations of his cat and his own behavior towards his cat were touching and witty. It would have been preferable had the author continued to focus on the cat, his digressions into his own life were somewhat distracting, and for a cat lover, kinda boring.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointed
Review: This book is an excellent example of how to take a wonderful story and turn it into something close to [junk.] William Jordan is a decent writer with a fairly decent story. However, Jordan manages to spend most of his time trying to convice us of his intelligence. I don't know how many times he pointed out that he was a biologist. Big deal. At one point he brags about how his cold intellect allowed him to sacrifice the lives of animals all in the name of science. He also feels the need to recount how, as a child, he tied a dog's leg to it's tail and the dog became paniced and ran (painfully) away. I got as far as page 97 before finally giving up on this book. Sorry Mr. Jordan, I just can't buy this garbage you are trying so hard to sell.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointed
Review: This book is an excellent example of how to take a wonderful story and turn it into something close to [junk.] William Jordan is a decent writer with a fairly decent story. However, Jordan manages to spend most of his time trying to convice us of his intelligence. I don't know how many times he pointed out that he was a biologist. Big deal. At one point he brags about how his cold intellect allowed him to sacrifice the lives of animals all in the name of science. He also feels the need to recount how, as a child, he tied a dog's leg to it's tail and the dog became paniced and ran (painfully) away. I got as far as page 97 before finally giving up on this book. Sorry Mr. Jordan, I just can't buy this garbage you are trying so hard to sell.
Rating:
Summary: The Cat's Whiskers
Review: This bravura narrative extraordinaire portrays a fascinating journey into a feline friendship, starting from indifference and ignorance to a plateau of alter-ego/soulmate. The phrasing of wit and humor captures the nostalgia of introspection with frank candor. The gamut of emotions culminates in a tangible sentiment of loving memory. You will develop a gentle rapport with Darwin as the pages unfold.
Rating: 
Summary: We learn ... and our pets are our teachers
Review: This is a gem of a book. Well-written -- sometimes a bit too pithy and scientific -- but despite that, Jordan's inward reflections are the soul-baring and keenly appreciated narratives of the living interplay between human and cat.
This book chronicles the transformation of Jordan the human (who admits to past transgressions against animals in the name of research), as he rescues, struggles with, loves, accepts and pays worthy homage to the cat Darwin as the teacher, with the human as putty being shaped into something finer than the original because of this living breathing oh-so-wise (and which of the felines is NOT wise?!) cat-being.
I can very well appreciate Jordan's well-written almost hilarious definition of unwrapping sharp kitty teeth from his limbs as "defusing a bomb", having myself done that many times with my (totally mis-named!) Baby Twinkle, an equally huge and fearsome female counterpart to Darwin, herself a street rescue.
But I gritted my teeth every time he let Darwin back outside at night and watched Darwin have his cat fights with the neighborhood cats. "For Heaven's Sake!" I wanted to yell at Jordan -- "One cat bite is all it takes! You're inviting a living death by Feline Leukemia or Feline Aids -- and you can easily avoid this by keeping Darwin inside, getting him vaccinated!!! So... when Darwin died a slow and terrible death (I have seen this TOO many times in friends' cats, and this disease is so easily avoidable!!!), I wanted to say "I really hope, Bill Jordan, that your next kitty stays indoors.....".
I commend Bill Jordan for his life-saving dedication to Darwin, his soul searching, his huge huge love for such an innocent being (as I see it, Adam and Eve were NOT thrown out of the Garden of Eden for anything that the cats had done!). Jordan's heart and soul were shining sweet and strong thru every page of his desperate tooth-gritting quest to save Darwin.
When the inevitable happened, Jordan's dialogue in the garden with Darwin is priceless.
Hope, in the form and name of Hoover, walked into Jordan's life at the right time. I hope Jordan learned from Darwin, and keeps Hoover indoors now. I also hope he refrains from any more strange (ie, unknowingly cruel) methods of discipline -- judging by his remorse, I feel that he has learned.
Despite some of my misgivings and heartfelt critiques, I still think Jordan's book is a treasure. I'm sorry Darwin is gone. But he was still a very lucky cat to have found such love in the form of William Jordan.
Rating:
Summary: A journey through faults and pleasures
Review: While I would recommend this book to anyone, I think it'll hit home most closely with those who have ever owned, and perhaps even loved, a cat. In this book Jordan retells the memory of meeting and accepting Darwin into his home, albeit often in a technical "scientific method" writing style at first. But as the story progresses, you see this colder side melt away, both from the character and the writing, and are left with the tenderness and emotion this man learned to feel for this cat. There are moments that may be hard to read, as there a scenes involving the veterinary hospital and, as another reader pointed out, a moment where Jordan is mad at another cat for attacking Darwin when he was trying to get them to coexist in his home, as well as reflections of Jordan's youth when he was less concerned for animals. But these scenes help to show just how strong an effect Darwin had on this man's life, and how drastically he has changed. While I am no fan of animal abuse in any form, these scenes had a reason to be included. The last few chapters had me in tears. As a whole, this is very touching and beautiful book. I bought it out of sheer curiosity at the mention of the title and having finished it...I have no regrets with my purchase.
| 
