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S. Anthony Barnett

The story of rats

Some people have a fear of rats, while others keep them as pets. In 'The story of rats', S. Anthony Barnett shows his liking for these creatures, but he doesn't present them as cuddly friends. No, fairly soon we are reading about the diseases they carry and the harm rats do to us. He goes on to look at things from the rats' point of view, with questions such as 'Do rats think?', and a look at agression in rat societies. The book is interesting to read, and is recommended for anyone with an interest in these creatures with which we often share our habitations.

However the book is as much about scientists as it is about rats. Rats have been used in many studies of behaviour, but Barnett warns against explaining rats behaviour in excessively human terms, and also against the opposite extreme of behaviourism. He also shows that the study of tame rats is likely to lead to misleading conclusions, as their social behaviour is very different from that of wild rats. Barnett's research on rats began over sixty years ago. I felt that more autobiographical details would have helped to indicate the time frame of this research. But that's a minor point and what he has to say will certainly be very useful to those wishing to study animal behaviour

Amazon.com info

Paperback 216 pages
ISBN: 1865085197
Salesrank: 928095
Weight:0.62 lbs

Published: 2002 Allen & Unwin

Amazon price $12.44

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Amazon.co.uk info

Paperback 216 pages
ISBN: 1865085197
Salesrank: 248371
Weight:0.62 lbs

Published: 2001 Allen & Unwin

Amazon price £15.29

Marketplace:New from £6.10:Used from £6.91

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Amazon.ca info

Paperback 216 pages
ISBN: 1865085197
Salesrank: 504789
Weight:0.62 lbs

Published: 2002 Allen & Unwin

Amazon price CDN$ 16.02

Marketplace:New from CDN$ 11.26:Used from CDN$ 11.25

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Product Description
More than the story of how people and rats live together, this book takes a serious and intriguing look at science and scientists, the problems they solve and fail to solve, and the scope and imperfections of our scientific knowledge of the world. It answers questions such as: Are rats still a threat to human health? Do rats think? Is it true that wild rats sometimes die, unwounded, from social stress? Can studies of rat societies tell us anything useful about our own social lives? This compelling historical and social study will capture the interest of all readers-from those fascinated by rats to those who cringe-by explaining the delicate and sometimes volatile impacts humans and rats have had on each other over the centuries and into the modern age.

Product Description

More than the story of how people and rats live together, this book takes a serious and intriguing look at science and scientists, the problems they solve and fail to solve, and the scope and imperfections of our scientific knowledge of the world. It answers questions such as: Are rats still a threat to human health? Do rats think? Is it true that wild rats sometimes die, unwounded, from social stress? Can studies of rat societies tell us anything useful about our own social lives? This compelling historical and social study will capture the interest of all readers-from those fascinated by rats to those who cringe-by explaining the delicate and sometimes volatile impacts humans and rats have had on each other over the centuries and into the modern age.

Great gift for rat lovers and their friends ****
I read this book back when I was working at a bookstore and had just started dating a girl that kept pet rats. I had never been around them before and thought it would be a good idea to learn more about rat care; this is not a book about rat care. It is, however, a wonderful book about rats and how they live and coexist with humans. Through a combination of personal stories and research, the author covers many of the highlights of rodent human interactions. Where they probably came from, how they spread, how they are similar and different to humans, etc. To me the most interesting stories were about how their curiosity often makes them unsuited (uncooperative) to training experiments, and how their social structure helps them to survive capture and poisoning. Neat book.

Great gift for rat lovers and their friends ****

I read this book back when I was working at a bookstore and had just started dating a girl that kept pet rats. I had never been around them before and thought it would be a good idea to learn more about rat care; this is not a book about rat care.
It is, however, a wonderful book about rats and how they live and coexist with humans.
Through a combination of personal stories and research, the author covers many of the highlights of rodent human interactions. Where they probably came from, how they spread, how they are similar and different to humans, etc. To me the most interesting stories were about how their curiosity often makes them unsuited (uncooperative) to training experiments, and how their social structure helps them to survive capture and poisoning.
Neat book.

Finally - a book about rat facts that's interesting yet not overly editorial *****
What a great book on rats! It really explains a lot about what can only be seen as mankind's life partner. We may not have wanted their company but we're linked inextricably as spieces. This one is definitely going on my bookshelf to stay. It's also top-notch for anyone doing research on rats for school.

Finally - a book about rat facts that's interesting yet not overly editorial *****

What a great book on rats! It really explains a lot about what can only be seen as mankind's life partner. We may not have wanted their company but we're linked inextricably as spieces. This one is definitely going on my bookshelf to stay. It's also top-notch for anyone doing research on rats for school.

Small, interesting book about a small, interesting rodent... ****
I bought THE STORY OF RATS by Anthony Barnett for my 14 year old granddaughter who is in an advanced placement science class at her high school, and who has an affinity for repulsive animals (she has a pet lizard she feeds live crickets). I ended up reading the book before I handed it to her, and, what an interesting little book it is. RATS is a paperback with reasonably large type, so easy to read and filled with illustrations and photographs, but more than that it's filled with interesting material (even though it may not be up to AP standards). Did you know that not only do rats eat human foods such as corn, rice and other grain, but, according to Barnett, humans have been known to eat rats? (The Hindu God Ganesha is accompanied by a rat, but Hindus have a proscription against eating them.) When Britain ruled the waves, British sailors found rats appetizing alternative to hard tack or starvation (apparently, rats cannot board modern ships as easily as they could board the old wooden ships, so they are no longer part of the sea-faring cuisine). However, even today, some folks in the far-flung places the British ships visited and populated with rats still eat them. Photos show markets where vendors sell rats roasted and strung up by their tails along with other butchered meat. Barnett discusses the bad things rats do such as eat human food stores and spread noxious diseases like the Bubonic Plague and Hanta virus, as well as the good things rats do, such as become pets or lab rats. The author includes chapters discussing the use of rats in experiments, so if you are squeamish about animal testing this may not the book for you (most of the experiments involve psychological studies, not physical torture). Nuclear testing by the US Navy suggest that if and when humans destroy the planet, rats will probably survive. On the other hand, Chernobyl, deserted by humans after the nuclear accident a few years ago, has returned to it's natural state of "wilderness" sans `Rattus' who just can't get along without humans. So, it seems even if rats can survive manmade follies, they may perish because they rely on humans for food and shelter.

Small, interesting book about a small, interesting rodent... ****

I bought THE STORY OF RATS by Anthony Barnett for my 14 year old granddaughter who is in an advanced placement science class at her high school, and who has an affinity for repulsive animals (she has a pet lizard she feeds live crickets). I ended up reading the book before I handed it to her, and, what an interesting little book it is. RATS is a paperback with reasonably large type, so easy to read and filled with illustrations and photographs, but more than that it's filled with interesting material (even though it may not be up to AP standards).

Did you know that not only do rats eat human foods such as corn, rice and other grain, but, according to Barnett, humans have been known to eat rats? (The Hindu God Ganesha is accompanied by a rat, but Hindus have a proscription against eating them.) When Britain ruled the waves, British sailors found rats appetizing alternative to hard tack or starvation (apparently, rats cannot board modern ships as easily as they could board the old wooden ships, so they are no longer part of the sea-faring cuisine). However, even today, some folks in the far-flung places the British ships visited and populated with rats still eat them. Photos show markets where vendors sell rats roasted and strung up by their tails along with other butchered meat.

Barnett discusses the bad things rats do such as eat human food stores and spread noxious diseases like the Bubonic Plague and Hanta virus, as well as the good things rats do, such as become pets or lab rats. The author includes chapters discussing the use of rats in experiments, so if you are squeamish about animal testing this may not the book for you (most of the experiments involve psychological studies, not physical torture). Nuclear testing by the US Navy suggest that if and when humans destroy the planet, rats will probably survive. On the other hand, Chernobyl, deserted by humans after the nuclear accident a few years ago, has returned to it's natural state of "wilderness" sans `Rattus' who just can't get along without humans. So, it seems even if rats can survive manmade follies, they may perish because they rely on humans for food and shelter.

Wonderful, A Must Have for Rat Lovers *****
Barnett has spent most of his life studying rats and writes an excellent book on their society, habits, and impact on humans. Although hated and feared by most people, Barnett's work with and observations of these rodents seems to have given him appreciation for the survivors rats are. Unsensationalized and respectful, Barnett offers an honest view of rats place among us and ours among them.

Wonderful, A Must Have for Rat Lovers *****

Barnett has spent most of his life studying rats and writes an excellent book on their society, habits, and impact on humans. Although hated and feared by most people, Barnett's work with and observations of these rodents seems to have given him appreciation for the survivors rats are. Unsensationalized and respectful, Barnett offers an honest view of rats place among us and ours among them.

They love us! ****
At any rate they should since we have created their habitats in, around and under our cities, towns and farms, and we feed them well. Occasionally we try to poison them but it never works for long. Usually, as Barnett, who is Emeritus Professor of Zoology at the Australian National University, explains they reject our poisons outright as something new in a familiar environment ("neophobia")--one of their clever tricks--and when we counter with one of OUR tricks (pre-baiting) we kill them all right, but they counter by upping their breeding schedule and soon the losses are made up. I think Barnett does a good job of making this an interesting read although the latter parts of the book are perhaps more scientific than some would like. He begins with the rat in history and literature, recalls the black plague and other rat-carried diseases, and then tells the story of how the rat became domesticated in the nineteenth century primarily as a laboratory animal to run mazes and push levers for rewards and punishments. He explains how this white albino rat has come to differ in its habits and traits from its wild counterpart, the so-called Norway rat, noting, for example, that lab rats are usually not neophobic. Instead they approach just about anything new. There is some interesting material on the black rat which tends to live in trees or on or near the top of dwellings while the Norway likes the ground and sewers. The material on the mole rat of India and the rice rat of Malaysia and some other species could have been expanded. Barnett goes into some of the research done on rats, both in the lab and in the field, and demonstrates just how hard it is to conduct useful and rigorous experiments and how easy it is to misread the findings. He looks into the mystery of rats seemingly dying because of stress and suggests that what kills them is a lowered immune system response to disease agents. (p. 170) There might be an unstated suggestion that stress can do the same thing to humans, perhaps to a lesser degree. I think that Barnett's excursion into the philosophy of science and the limitations of applying animal research to humans (with quotes from philosopher K. R. Popper and geneticist R.C. Lewontin) toward the end of the book might have worked better in some other volume. At any rate I would have preferred instead more material on Barnett's personal experiences with rats. The material he does give us from his early days in London during World War II and from his lifelong research and experience is interesting and could have been expanded, especially in a book like this aimed at a general readership. There are a number of black and white photos and drawings of rats, a Glossary, a list of References, and an Index. Bottom line: interesting and not nearly as repellant as a work on rats could easily be.

They love us! ****

At any rate they should since we have created their habitats in, around and under our cities, towns and farms, and we feed them well. Occasionally we try to poison them but it never works for long. Usually, as Barnett, who is Emeritus Professor of Zoology at the Australian National University, explains they reject our poisons outright as something new in a familiar environment ("neophobia")--one of their clever tricks--and when we counter with one of OUR tricks (pre-baiting) we kill them all right, but they counter by upping their breeding schedule and soon the losses are made up.

I think Barnett does a good job of making this an interesting read although the latter parts of the book are perhaps more scientific than some would like. He begins with the rat in history and literature, recalls the black plague and other rat-carried diseases, and then tells the story of how the rat became domesticated in the nineteenth century primarily as a laboratory animal to run mazes and push levers for rewards and punishments. He explains how this white albino rat has come to differ in its habits and traits from its wild counterpart, the so-called Norway rat, noting, for example, that lab rats are usually not neophobic. Instead they approach just about anything new. There is some interesting material on the black rat which tends to live in trees or on or near the top of dwellings while the Norway likes the ground and sewers. The material on the mole rat of India and the rice rat of Malaysia and some other species could have been expanded.

Barnett goes into some of the research done on rats, both in the lab and in the field, and demonstrates just how hard it is to conduct useful and rigorous experiments and how easy it is to misread the findings. He looks into the mystery of rats seemingly dying because of stress and suggests that what kills them is a lowered immune system response to disease agents. (p. 170) There might be an unstated suggestion that stress can do the same thing to humans, perhaps to a lesser degree.

I think that Barnett's excursion into the philosophy of science and the limitations of applying animal research to humans (with quotes from philosopher K. R. Popper and geneticist R.C. Lewontin) toward the end of the book might have worked better in some other volume. At any rate I would have preferred instead more material on Barnett's personal experiences with rats. The material he does give us from his early days in London during World War II and from his lifelong research and experience is interesting and could have been expanded, especially in a book like this aimed at a general readership.

There are a number of black and white photos and drawings of rats, a Glossary, a list of References, and an Index. Bottom line: interesting and not nearly as repellant as a work on rats could easily be.

Rats GALORE!!!! ****
For anyone remotely interested in rats whether for or as in my case against, this book is great. It provides the reader with little tini witsy facts about the loathsome rats that are appealing in their sickness. In the end "Bring in the rat terriers" I proclaim....

Rats GALORE!!!! ****

For anyone remotely interested in rats whether for or as in my case against, this book is great. It provides the reader with little tini witsy facts about the loathsome rats that are appealing in their sickness. In the end "Bring in the rat terriers" I proclaim....

The Story of Rats: Their Impact on Us, and Our Impact on The *****
This book really is an interesting read. I read it from the point of veiw of a Fancy rat owner and found it opened my eyes to lots of behaiviour i have observed in my pets. Also from a scientific point of veiw the links it draws between rats and humans and the lengths gone to explain some of our behaiviour via the rats is fascinating.

The Story of Rats: Their Impact on Us, and Our Impact on The *****

This book really is an interesting read. I read it from the point of veiw of a Fancy rat owner and found it opened my eyes to lots of behaiviour i have observed in my pets. Also from a scientific point of veiw the links it draws between rats and humans and the lengths gone to explain some of our behaiviour via the rats is fascinating.

Overratted. **
I picked up this book thinking it would be an elegant blend of science, history and philisophical musings a la Lewis Thomas--but Barnett has failed utterly. He shifts from psuedo-philisophical ponderings to sounding as though he's lecturing to a bunch of college freshman. I can't possibly give it a one star because I did find a lot of the information interesting, but on the whole, I put down the book rather dissatisfied.

Overratted. **

I picked up this book thinking it would be an elegant blend of science, history and philisophical musings a la Lewis Thomas--but Barnett has failed utterly. He shifts from psuedo-philisophical ponderings to sounding as though he's lecturing to a bunch of college freshman. I can't possibly give it a one star because I did find a lot of the information interesting, but on the whole, I put down the book rather dissatisfied.

Excellent *****
Whether you love rats, hate rats, or have no understanding of them at all, this is a great book. It's very objective, written in an accessible format, and absolutely fascinating. This book should be a must read for anyone who keeps rats as pets, as it lends a much better understanding of "rat psychology" than one would get from simple pet care books.

Excellent *****

Whether you love rats, hate rats, or have no understanding of them at all, this is a great book. It's very objective, written in an accessible format, and absolutely fascinating.
This book should be a must read for anyone who keeps rats as pets, as it lends a much better understanding of "rat psychology" than one would get from simple pet care books.