Cats

There are so many breeds of cats and their characteristics are so different that sometimes the only thing they have in common are their basic shape of a head, body and four legs. There are longhair cats and no-hair cats. There are cats with long tails and cats with no tails. There are mild cats and then there are wild cats. There are some really big cats and some really small cats. Each of these breeds appears in the photographs of this collection. Generally, there are two photos of the breed, one with the cat solo and another where a human is somehow interacting with it. The photography is excellent, making this a book that all lovers of cats and those simply interested in learning more about the various breeds will enjoy.

Yann Arthus-Bertrand is an excellent photographer, known for a unique series "Earth from above" as well as for books dedicated to dogs and horses. I bought "Cats" because I am owned by a cat and also because my mother owns another book by Arthus-Bertrand "Dogs". Both books are designed on a similar plan, namely numerous breeds are presented with a brief description, informative and fun, next to a picture of a perfect breed representative with his/her owner(s). The quality of animal pictures is superb in both books, but it is the essential difference in natures of the animals that makes one book a smashing success and another somewhat disappointing. Dogs present striking similarity, or contrast with their owners, each picture looks like a family portrait, - nothing of a kind occurs in "Cats". These are the pictures of gorgeous animals - and different people, owners and cats could be shuffled without any damage to the overall impression. By contrast, looking at the pictures in "Dogs", one can't help but think:"This lady couldn't have had anybody else but Maltese". Nevertheless, photos in "Cats" are exquisite, texts on various breeds are informative and fun and the book surely is a nice addition to a cat lover's library. As for depth of cats' nature - well, it remains as impenetrable to humans as ever.