OF ANIMALS AND MEN

Bixby makes a timely contribution to the juvenile collection since the topics of ethology are increasingly popular and offer exciting possibilities for solving man's social dilemmas. Ethology deals with the study of animal behavior (man included and often not in favorable comparison); most recent among popular adult titles is the notorious Naked Ape. In its own non-risque way, this is equally shocking Here is man in all his splendor, having risen to ""higher"" status--and unlike his ""lower"" relatives he has rid himself of the inability to murder his own species. Other manifestations of instinct, territoriality and display among animals are also contrasted to behavior in humans. The reader may be left a little uneasy by the implication that we are not so much in control of situations as our mythology of superiority would have us believe; but the necessity to recognize our natures is a start toward curing our problems. A worthwhile book.