ANIMAL SPEAK Understanding Animal Messengers, Totems, and Signs

Rather than providing a formal introduction, this discussion of the role of animals and the natural world in our lives opens with a story. Fortunately for listeners, Ted Andrews is a fine storyteller. He speaks with well-developed cadences, as if addressing a live audience. From there Andrews discusses the various potentials animals offer us directly, moving among snippets of traditional story, personal accounts, and direct explanation. The overall result is a bit shapeless. It's hard to tell why this work ends when it does or why some points are repeated. But the contents are lively and charming. Listeners may find some of Andrews's claims extreme, but his style is moving and his conviction evident. G.T.B. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine [Published: APR/ MAY 08]