Rating: 
Summary: A Book for Pet Rabbit Lovers
Review: "Stories Rabbits Tell" continues where R. M. Lockley stopped in "The Private Life of the Rabbit." The authors discribe the behaviors of both wild and domestic rabbits and provided interesting history about the rabbit/human relationship.
This book is exactly what it claims to be. It is a book for pet rabbit lovers by pet rabbit lovers. Those who make profit off of rabbits might be offended by this book. Both of the authors are deeply involved with the House Rabbit Society, a rabbit rescue and education organization. If you love rabbits as pets and want to learn about wild and domestic behavior, this book is for you. If you want to learn about the rabbit in literature, poetry, religion, and as a cultural icon, this is a good book. If you're hoping to read the glorified version of the rabbit production industry, look elsewhere.
Rating: 
Summary: Bashes Breeders
Review: "Stories Rabbits Tell" continues where R. M. Lockley stopped in "The Private Life of the Rabbit." The authors discribe the behaviors of both wild and domestic rabbits and provided interesting history about the rabbit/human relationship.
This book is exactly what it claims to be. It is a book for pet rabbit lovers by pet rabbit lovers. Those who make profit off of rabbits might be offended by this book. Both of the authors are deeply involved with the House Rabbit Society, a rabbit rescue and education organization. If you love rabbits as pets and want to learn about wild and domestic behavior, this book is for you. If you want to learn about the rabbit in literature, poetry, religion, and as a cultural icon, this is a good book. If you're hoping to read the glorified version of the rabbit production industry, look elsewhere.
Rating: 
Summary: A must for rabbit lovers
Review: A labor of love, this is. Frankly, it's a book I wish I had thought to write! For those of us who enjoy our pet rabbits, David and Demello are kindred spirits who (unlike most "normal," non-rabbit people) don't mind staying up all night to talk bunnies. Unfortunately, the book starts out a little dry and does run a bit long. But I can't fault them for that. They have such deep affection for the rabbit, it's infectious. They have given me new insight into the rabbit's peculiar place in popular culture, folklore, art and history. The rabbit lives as a symbol of everything from sex to spring, cunning to cowardice -- I'll never look at mine the same way again. There's also a good attempt at real and fresh reporting on issues rarely touched on by mainstream media: rabbit farming, experimentation, the politics of using rabbits to fight hunger, the tensions between breeders and rescuers. My favorite section: living with house rabbits. For those of us waiting years for an updated version of the "House Rabbit Handbook," that chapter is a great read, full of real anecdotes, black and white photos, and new information.
Rating:
Summary: Educational and an Expose
Review: As a rabbit lover, and a person who hopes to be a vet someday, I loved this book. Every part of it was interesting, though some was disturbing. The authors take an intimate look at rabbits. They offer much information that is difficult to find elsewhere. I found the biological information on rabbits to be very interesting, especially regarding their evolution. The authors make mention of a few very rare and endangered species of rabbits. They offer many stories of house rabbits. Stories that may shock those people who don't know the joys and complexities of living with a house rabbit. I also enjoyed reading about the rabbit as a symbol in our culture, both loved and hated, often misunderstood. I have often said to my rabbits, "Silly Rabbit", without thinking about where this phrase came from and what it indicates about our culture's idea of rabbits. The chapters on the rabbit meat, fur, and pet industry, as well as the use of rabbits in laboratories, were informative and inspiring, though disheartening. It is shocking to realize how we view these creatures in so many different ways, but important to realize that reform and regulation are needed. The authors present the information realistically without trying to sugar coat the truth or shock their readers. An educational, informative, and important read for all those who love rabbits or wish to learn more about them. After reading this book, you will never utter the phrase "just a rabbit" again, if it hasn't left your vocabulary already.
Rating:
Summary: Not What I Expected - But Still a Good book
Review: From the title of the book, I was expecting more of a story book then a reference type book. From my first hand experience, I found the information to be very accurate, despite what some of the other reviews might say. Maybe not all rabbi tries are bad, but the ones I have seen are not in it because they care about their rabbits. The book goes into detail about all the different aspects of rabbits, from the pet industry to fur/meat industry.
Rating:
Summary: Not What I Expected - But Still a Good book
Review: From the title of the book, I was expecting more of a story book then a reference type book. From my first hand experience, I found the information to be very accurate, despite what some of the other reviews might say. Maybe not all rabbi tries are bad, but the ones I have seen are not in it because they care about their rabbits. The book goes into detail about all the different aspects of rabbits, from the pet industry to fur/meat industry.
Rating:
Summary: Astonishingly beautiful, thorough book
Review: I've lived with rabbits all my life, but it was not until I first picked up a copy of The House Rabbit Handbook in 1993 that it dawned on me that I could really let a rabbit not only into my home, but into my life, my family, and essentially, into my heart. That book was a turning point for me. Stories Rabbits Tell is another such singular, profoundly meaningful book, though it is quite different from the Handbook; it is more academic, and requires a great deal of fortitude and intelligent thinking from the reader (though of course what the Handbook asks of us in terms of necessary bunny-proofing does, too!). It seems to me that the dissenting reviews on this site have a fundamental desire to dismiss anyone who questions possible mistreatment of rabbits -- most of these negative reviews really don't seem to have much of anything to do with this book at all, and I would be surprised if many of the reviewers had actually read it. If they had, they would see that Susan Davis and Margo Demello are quite open about their methodologies, and that they go to great pains to present a balanced view of any topic they present -- even vivisection. The fact is that almost no Americans know the suffering that animals experience so that we can benefit from them in myriad ways--ways that most people never even consider; Davis and Demello discuss this. In turn, people get upset. It's an upsetting reality -- to paraphrase Pete Seeger, quoted in the book, if it upsets us just to read or hear about it, imagine how much it pains the animals who experience this suffering. But that is a relatively small part of the book, and I would be very sorry to see readers discouraged from reading this marvelous, rich, and brilliantly researched, argued, and written life/history/cultural review of rabbits. I feel as if I am getting to know rabbits all over again, and for the first time, in some ways--rabbits in the wild, in other people's homes or yards (oh no!), in meat and fur farms (not the 'friendly' or clean facilities you may have imagined, and in isolating research labs. Gazing into the faces of my three house rabbits when I look up from this book's pages, I marvel at the depth and beauty of these creatures -- and I hope that this brilliant book will not only open up the possibility of such a rich and rewarding connection to others, but that it will also allow even those people who have never thought of rabbits at all to know that they are indeed a truly wonderful creature. I congratulate the authors on their tremendously well-done book, and I urge readers interested in everything from animals to folklore to politics to the medical industry to hunting to history to --well, everything -- to read it. And I thank them for taking the time to write a book I have been waiting to read for many many years without even specifically knowing that this was what I wanted and needed. Regarding the chapters on abuse and vivisection: I am grateful that they were included even though I cried reading them, because sometimes we do have to read things that are painful and difficult, not because we want to, but because they are true, and because it is important that we know the truth, so that then we can make of it what we will and choose our own actions from there. Finally, this book makes me want to be kind to those around me; it makes me feel even more conscious of and grateful to the rabbits with whom I share my life. It's one of the most special qualities of Stories Rabbits Tell, I think: the intimate attention given to the details of rabbits' quirks, narratives, frustrations, losses, sufferings, triumphs. The authors have taken great care in the way they have presented the lives of rabbits; throughout, they respect and cherish the individuality of each rabbit life, at the same time that they discuss trends in the understanding of and response to/use of rabbits at large. Thinking of each animal as an individual, with real feelings, needs, rights--anyone who has a beloved pet knows what this means in the particular, but how about looking beyond that? Davis and Demello opened my eyes to sights and realities I did not want to see; because I love my own dear rabbits, I cannot ignore the individuality of all other rabbits, of all animals. It is a philosophy that may boggle the mind of those in commercial rabbit industries, or those who wear fur but one that I find to be perfectly respectable and plausible, and even practicle--and certainly well-argued. So now, I'm off to hug my bunnies, and count my blessings that we've found each other. Buy and read this book -- you will benefit from it immeasurably.
Rating:
Summary: Stories Rabbits Tell
Review: In short, I would just like to say that it is about time that someone has put to the pages the truth about how these defenseless and innocent lives are being abused and tortured. It blows my mind how cruel and devilish human beings can be for their own self proffit. To all the animal lovers out there, this is an educational experience to understanding your bunnies and learning a little more about how they communicate with us.
Rating:
Summary: An astonishingly complete work on the rabbit
Review: This is not a book of rabbit stories, per se, but rather the story of the rabbit in its entirety, primarily as it relates to humans. This includes the rabbit as a wild creature, as beloved companion, destructive pest, commercial commodity (meat,fur,pet), cultural and contemporary icon, object of ancient beliefs, and the basis of all kinds of experiments. A more complete discussion of the place occupied by the rabbit throughout the centuries is hard to imagine. The only aspect not covered in any detail is the breeding of rabbits as show animals. Some readers are upset with the authors' reports of the conditions that rabbits are often kept in, as though these reports reflect on everyone who keeps rabbits for anything other than companions. I find these reports quite matter of fact and unbiased. There is no implication that, because some exploitations of rabbits are inhumane, all are. This book will give anyone who reads it an incredibly broad understanding of, as the authors put it, "a misunderstood creature." I would suggest that the rabbit is not only misunderstood, but that few people have any understamding of the rabbit at all. Some of us know the rabbit as a beloved companion animal. Some of us know them as a source of profit. Some know them as a complex system of genes to be manipulated to bring about improvements in the breeds, or to create new breeds. Some know them as an effective laboratory for studying the results of exposure to a variety of things. But few of us know the rabbit in its boadest scope. "Stories Rabbits Tell" is an effective means we can all use to broaden our understanding of this complex and fascinating creature.
Rating:
Summary: An astonishingly complete work on the rabbit
Review: This is not a book of rabbit stories, per se, but rather the story of the rabbit in its entirety, primarily as it relates to humans. This includes the rabbit as a wild creature, as beloved companion, destructive pest, commercial commodity (meat,fur,pet), cultural and contemporary icon, object of ancient beliefs, and the basis of all kinds of experiments. A more complete discussion of the place occupied by the rabbit throughout the centuries is hard to imagine. The only aspect not covered in any detail is the breeding of rabbits as show animals. Some readers are upset with the authors' reports of the conditions that rabbits are often kept in, as though these reports reflect on everyone who keeps rabbits for anything other than companions. I find these reports quite matter of fact and unbiased. There is no implication that, because some exploitations of rabbits are inhumane, all are. This book will give anyone who reads it an incredibly broad understanding of, as the authors put it, "a misunderstood creature." I would suggest that the rabbit is not only misunderstood, but that few people have any understamding of the rabbit at all. Some of us know the rabbit as a beloved companion animal. Some of us know them as a source of profit. Some know them as a complex system of genes to be manipulated to bring about improvements in the breeds, or to create new breeds. Some know them as an effective laboratory for studying the results of exposure to a variety of things. But few of us know the rabbit in its boadest scope. "Stories Rabbits Tell" is an effective means we can all use to broaden our understanding of this complex and fascinating creature.
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