Book Review Wednesday: Books for Animal Lovers

New for 2009 on the Green Life is a weekly roundup of books addressing a particular aspect of environmentalism. Today we're reviewing books that explore the complex relationship between animals and humans. Check back here every Wednesday to discover new and worthwhile books.

Saved: Rescued Animals and the Lives They Transform (by Karin Winegar, $25.95, Da Capo Press, 2008): This moving collection of true stories highlights the bonds formed between orphaned, abused, and abandoned animals and the people who rescue them.

Stalking the Ghost Bird: The Elusive Ivory-Billed Woodpecker in Louisiana (by Michael K. Steinberg, $24.95, Louisiana State University Press, 2008): Michael Steinberg tracks the rare (and possibly extinct) ivory-billed woodpecker, uncovering layers of controversy and obsession within the birding community.

Elephants and Ethics: Toward a Morality of Coexistence (edited by Christen Wemmer and Catherine A. Christen, $75, Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008): With contributions from international experts, this informative and often heartbreaking tome details the complicated history of human-elephant interactions and discusses our species' intertwined future.

Made for Each Other: The Biology of the Human-Animal Bond (by Meg Daley Olmert, $26, Da Capo Press, February 2009): Meg Daley Olmert draws from fields such as neuroscience, evolutionary biology, and psychology to explain the connection between humans and their beloved pets.

--Della Watson