The Divine Life of Animals: One Man's Quest to Discover Whether the Souls of Animals Live on

by Ptolemy Tompkins

Book Overview

A journey through 20,000 years of history and myth in search of the answer to a single question: Do animals have souls? ? Anyone who has ever mourned the loss of a cherished pet has wondered about the animal soul. Do animals survive the death of the body, or are they doomed to disappear completely when they leave this world behind? Both scientists and religious authorities have long scoffed at the idea of animals in heaven. Yet the question endures...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0307451321
• ISBN13: 9780307451323
• Release Date: June 2010
• Publisher: Crown Publishing Group (NY)
• Length: 243 Pages
• Weight: 0.79 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.8" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

The Divine Life of Animals by Ptolemy Tomkins

Wonderful book! For me, it confirmed what I already knew about my spiritual path and that of the animals I have loved and cared about on my journey. Highly recommended!

Not an Easy Read but Worthwhile

Anyone who's lost a beloved pet knows the pain, emptiness, even despair of the loss of an animal friend and companion. One suffering such a loss is wrought with feelings of guilt, disbelief, and uncertainty. In my case, questions of animal mortality or immortality came to mind so I wanted to read a book confirming my belief or rather hope that dogs too possess a spirit or soul that survives the body. Thus I decided to read "The Divine Life of Animals" looking for answers, support, confirmation, and perhaps some uplifting stories. Reading this extensively researched book is like taking a long trip, a specific destination in mind, but delayed with what one at first perceives to be excessive detours, wrong turns, and dead ends. After reading the first of five sections, a laborious read exploring ancient religious beliefs, Mayans, Eastern religions, primitive man, and early and pre-Biblical Jewish beliefs I was ready to call it quits. My wife, who had read the book before me, suggested I persist because the book would soon take a turn for the better. I'm glad I followed her advice. Once the author arrives in the present time with modern day anecdotes and current thought, my interest and enjoyment of the book heightened. In the last few chapters all the esoteric and the exotic and the mysterious came into alignment, into a merger of what I could even call enlightenment. The ending brings a satisfaction that makes the long, sometimes-arduous journey worthwhile. I may even pursue my newfound interest in the otherworldly topics brought up by Tompkins with further reading. Overall the Tompkins does a masterful job with impressive research and background though the book's beginning reads more like a scholarly research paper or textbook than I would have liked.

Do animals go to heaven? An exploration of the spiritual lives of animals

In his book latest book, The Divine Life of Animals, One Man's Quest to Discover Whether the Souls of Animals Live on, acclaimed author Ptolemy Tompkins (son of Peter Tompkins, author of The Secret Life of Plants) seeks to answer the question, do animals go to heaven? His search for the truth leads the reader down an intricate and fascinating path that explores not only whether animals have souls, but also the question of what a soul is, as it's been perceived through time and across cultures. In his pursuit of understanding how the soul pertains to animals, Tomkins examines beliefs about the human soul, highlighting eastern and western religion, ancient philosophies and practices of prehistoric people. The story of the human soul is inextricably intertwined with man's relationship to the physical world and nature, and it is here where Tompkins reveals to the reader how the wisdom of the ages lives on in modern life. Woven through the narrative are the stories of Penny, a neglected dog, Angus, Tompkins' own pet rabbit, Moose the Manatee, and a bear named Little Bit, all of whom through their own distintiveness in both `animality' and personality touched human lives in a profound way and who illustrate the surprising reason why people and animals need each other now more than ever. Beautifully written and thoroughly captivating, you'll want to read this book - even if you think you already know the answer to this question.