OWNED BY AN EAGLE

English raconteur Gerald Summers, whose kestrel accompanied him through WW II (The Lure of the Falcon, 1973), recalls his sixteen years of being tolerated by the bird's successor, a golden eagle named Random. However, Summers does not confine his account to the inevitable mix of lore, lure, and mishaps attendant upon ownership of the majestic, often ferocious bird of prey. He is also a dog buff and a cheery dabbler in such minor business ventures as a pet store in a seedy Thames-side neighborhood and a country grocery shop, both busy with dogs and birds. Summers has not only that uniquely English unsentimental affection for animals, but also the gift, shared by Gerald Durrell at his best, of finding immense fun in the breeching of civil behavior by the wild and untoward. He barely conceals his glee at the to-do when he had to remove Random from a gas tower or from his neighbor's Sunday roast, on which she was hammering away. There was the pleasure, too, of routing Teddy boys with dogs and bird. A bright choice for Anglophilic Herriot fans.