THE AUTHENTIC ANIMAL: INSIDE THE ODD AND OBSESSIVE WORLD OF TAXIDERMY. By Dave Madden.

(2011) later paperback reprint. 8vo paperback (128 x 201mm). Ppx,274. Not illustrated.

This is an interesting, if idiosyncratically written, account of modern taxidermy, beginning with the career of Carl Akeley. "What Akeley strove for and what fascinates Madden is the attempt by the taxidermist to replicate the authentic animal, looking as though it's still alive. To get a first-hand glimpse at this world, Madden travels to the World Taxidermy Championships, the garage workplaces of people who mount freeze-dried pets for bereaved owners, and the classrooms of a taxidermy academy where students stretch deer pelts over foam bases." Dave Madden is an American academic. Madden's reaction to his discovery of the existence of taxidermy is about on the same level as Tarzan discovering traffic lights. This is especially remarkable in the US where there is no shortage of people shooting and stuffing things, often using taxidermy materials which they have bought in supermarkets. Madden's unawareness of the world which surrounds him is itself half the interest of the book.