The Philosopher and the Wolf Audiobook By Mark Rowlands cover art

The Philosopher and the Wolf

Lessons from the Wild on Love, Death and Happines

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The Philosopher and the Wolf

By: Mark Rowlands
Narrated by: Gareth Armstrong
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This fascinating book charts the relationship between Mark Rowlands, a rootless philosopher, and Brenin, his extraordinarily well-travelled wolf. More than just an exotic pet, Brenin exerted an immense influence on Rowlands as both a person and, strangely enough, as a philosopher, leading him to reevaluate his attitude toward love, happiness, nature, and death. By turns funny (what do you do when your wolf eats your air-conditioning unit?) and poignant, this life-affirming book will make you reappraise what it means to be human.

©2009 Mark Rowlands (P)2015 Audible, Ltd. Philosophy Funny Wolf

Critic reviews

"This year's most original and instructive work of popular philosophy...a remarkable portrait of the bond that can exist between a human being and a beast.... Rowlands is] a rare contemporary philosopher who is able to learn from everything he experiences in life, not just books and academic journals. That is what makes The Philosopher and the Wolf so refreshing." (Financial Times)
"An extraordinary memoir." (Daily Mail)
"A powerfully subversive critique of the unexamined assumption that shape the way most philosophers - along with most people - think about animals and themselves." (Literary Review)
"Rowland's memoir is life-affirming, engrossing, thoughtful and moving...The Philosopher and the Wolf could become a philosophical cult classic." (TLS)
"Nothing short of human existence, survival and our relationship to all other creatures is examined here and it's all written in a beautifully elegiac way. The heart-strings will be pulled and the mind stimulated."(City AM)
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You have a philisopher living with a wolf and rambling on at times about philosophy, which made me want to skip ahead. I think this is a mostly true account, but it makes me realize some people (like this author) are dysfunctional members of society who rise to recognition and success in spite of themselves. These drunks somehow pull the wool over the eyes of gullible associates and get recognition for their drunken ramblings. He acknowledged this and is as totally surprised with his success as you will be. Having said that, the wolf is great, the story is good, once you get past the philosophical ramblings, there are some enlightening moments and ideas. His ideas about how a wolf might think and a wolfs' outlook on life are fresh, interesting and credible. Listen to a sample and decide for yourself.

The wolf is the best part of this book!

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Some of the philosophies were great, others were less agreeable (to me anyway). I did enjoy it and would listen to it again if given the choice but overall it just lacked a little something.

Good for a bit of light reading.

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