Kinship with All Life

By J. Allen Boone

Book Overview

Is there a universal language of love, a "kinship with all life" that can open new horizons of experience?

First published in 1954, this unique classic begins with the famous German Shepherd Strongheart, one of the earliest canine American film stars, and the moment screenwriter J. Allen Boone was asked to look after him while his trainer traveled. As Boone and Strongheart's bond deepened, the author found he had to set aside the idea of human superiority and become the student, not the master.

Boone's encounters with creatures ranging from a skunk and a rattlesnake to an ant, an earthworm, and a housefly, each offered as proof that genuine communication across species is possible for anyone willing to approach animals with openness, friendliness, humility, and a sense of humor to part the curtain and form bonds of real friendship.. Decades after its original publication, Kinship With All Life remains Boone's most enduring work and continues to introduce new generations of readers to his central conviction: that every living creature has something to teach us.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060609125
• ISBN13: 9780060609122
• Release Date: January 1976
• Publisher: HarperOne
• Length: 160 Pages
• Weight: 0.62 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 5.3" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

A Simple Unavoidable Secret

I can't count how many copies I've bought of this book because I keep giving it to people. Years ago, it got me to study my cat tracking a cockroach without letting the bug know he was watching. That started my process of becoming more carefully observant of everything around me. It isn't ESP. It is, simply, paying attention. Most importantly, it is love, respect, and appreciation for All Life. By the time you finish reading (no doubt still hungry for more), you'll have gotten the message and probably given it a try. If you're serious about it, you'll find your life changing little by little and you'll discover how you can improve your relationships with others - animals or people - or insects, plants, and the planet itself. Once I chose to be somewhat of a reclusive hermit, but I couldn't do it because I have literally millions of intimate friends. The evidence of long ago that there was harmony among all on earth is still present. In choosing to stand there, we can begin to resolve our differences. We can evolve as humans. We can put an end to war and pestilence unfailingly, "whenever the human does his required part." Written in 1954, Boone's message is more important for us now than ever.

Inspirational

When my friend gave me this book to read, I groaned inwardly. "Oh no," I said to myself, "not another cutsy-cutsy book about animals." Boy was I wrong! This little book is one of the most profound I have ever read. I certainly will never look at another creature ever again without recognizing the consciousness inhabiting it.The majority of the book is about the author's consciousness-raising experience with an amazing dog named Strongheart, who taught the author that every creature has within it an aware being. The story of the author's unfoldment of awareness is simply mind-blowing. I am going to buy and give away copies of this little book to all of my friends. It's NOT just about animals, and communication with them, but about life, the universe, and everything (no joke!). From his interaction with animals the author gained insight into the nature of existence itself.Even if every story in the book was made-up, it still wouldn't detract from it's impact -- these are well-written stories which all have a deep and inspiring message.I can't recommend this book highly enough, I consider it a must-read for every human being. Published in 1954, it is still in print, which should tell you something about the quality of this narrative.Enlightening and inspirational!

Life changing

I read this book as a teenager, and my attitude toward and relationship with animals was forever altered. Now I am in my thirties, and I cannot even begin to convey the depth of my appreciation toward J. Allen Boone. What "Kinship With All Life" teaches is not simply Boone's personal experience with the animal kingdom: it is the human potential for unity with the natural world. Boone's deep respect and understanding of animals is very accessible and achievable as conveyed through his story, which is told frankly and from the heart. Anyone who is open to receive his message can expect to receive great spiritual benefit. By narrating the story of how he went from being a common dog trainer to having a profound connection with animals of all types, Boone taps into a level of reality and wisdom rarely recognized--a level that I believe is fundamental to our understanding of who we are in the larger scheme of things. I wish everyone could read this book, for the benefit of animals everywhere and, ultimately, the human race itself.

Prior review is RIGHT. This book is a must in public schools

When I drove my Sheltie to the Vet to be spayed, she was shaking violently. Yet she was in that car *every* morning, riding with me on my errands. How could she know *this* morning was different? So, AS AN EXPERIMENT, I changed my view. (I'd been apprehensive as well) I told the dog, mentally, what was going on and also told her that she did not need to be afraid. I told her that she may experience some discomfort after this procedure, but it would be minimal and this surgery was in her best interest and there would be a good outcome. I told her that Love was present at the vet's office and the presence of Love forbade the entrance of fear. Her shaking quickly stopped and she laid down comfortably in the seat. My childhood dog (he passed years ago) also was very sensitive to thought. Boone's book - Kinship with All Life - proves that these examples are not the exception but the rule. Reading this book (just recently) has changed me forever. One of my all time favorites. I have always assumed dogs were "not too bright" but I have now have great respect for their capacities.This book is a quick read, but it causes a real paradigm shift in thought. Nothing IN THE UNIVERSE will look the same after you read Boone's little treatise on animals.One last note - In every book I've read about life after life, there is one constant theme - When the departed talk about returning home to say good-bye to loves ones, they always add "No one in the room could see me or hear my words, but the dog kept barking at me and looked right at me..." Dogs see through the veil that obscures our own thoughts.rosethorn@home.com

Foreshadowing the next century.

Being human is a lonely affair. At least, for most of us. Part of the problem is that we don't give equal recognition to any life form unless it is limited to two legs. After reading Kinship With All Life, I guarantee that your loneliness will significantly diminish, unless you are one of those "two-leggeds" whose arrogance takes precedence over truth. What truth? That we are not solely the creatures for whom the planet Earth was created. Boone foreshadowed the 21st C. by a good 60 years in his ideas that there is more to nonhuman creatures than meets the eye. Carrying that torch in our time is Daniel Quinn, whose book, Ishmael has stirred hearts and controversy all over the globe. Another tiein is When Elephants Weep, a review of the scientific material available on the emotional lives of animals. Some of us spend fruitless hours wondering if we are alone in the universe yet never stop to apply that to Earth. We take for granted we are. Add more meaning to your life on levels heretofore only imagined. Read Boone and lose both your arrogance and loneliness in the process. Zoe Calde