King Solomon's ring : new light on animal ways

Solomon, the legend goes, had a magic ring which enabled him to speak to the animals in their own language.

Konrad Lorenz was gifted with a similar power of understanding the animal world.

He was that rare beast, a brilliant scientist who could write (and indeed draw) beautifully.

He did more than any other person to establish and popularize the study of how animals behave, receiving a Nobel Prize for his work."King Solomon's Ring", the book which brought him worldwide recognition, is a collection of observations and insights into the lives of all sorts of creatures, from jackdaws and water-shrews to dogs, cats and even wolves.

Illustrated by Lorenz himself, the book is an introduction to the world of our furred and feathered friends, a world which often provides an uncanny resemblance to our own.