THE ANIMAL DIALOGUES tells of Craig Childs' own chilling experiences among the grizzlies of the Arctic, sharks off the coast of British Columbia and in the turquoise waters of Central America, jaguars in the bush of northern Mexico, mountain lions, elk, Bighorn Sheep, and others. More than chilling, however, these stories are lyrical, enchanting, and reach beyond what one commonly assumes an ''animal story'' is or should be. THE ANIMAL DIALOGUES is a book about another world that exists alongside our own, an entire realm of languages and interactions that humans rarely get the chance to witness. ''The author has a talent for bringing his encounters home and fashioning them into chromatic, immediate accounts. Some of the experiences chronicled here are quite simply breath-catching and heart-gladdening.Each of these pieces is a personal invitation to get outdoors and celebrate all things furred, feathered and scaled.''-Kirkus Reviews''Eloquent.Childs's captivating essays, rich in sensuous imagery.

are hauntingly beautiful and replete with evocative observations of animal life.''-Publishers Weekly (starred).