Product Description

Following the easy-to-read style and colorful format of "The Complete Cow," "The Complete Pig" pays tribute to swine with fun, fascinating facts about these curious creatures. Sara Rath provides readers with an overview of popular breeds, the history of wild boars and domesticated pigs, and tales of pigs in pop culture and folklore. With additional information on flying pigs, hog calling, greased pigs, pigs as pets, collecting pig memorabilia, and pig phrases, "The Complete Pig" has something for every piggy lover!

The light-hearted, entertaining text is complemented by delightful illustrations, including pig paintings and photographs of both domestic and wild pigs. Also depicted are images of pigs in pop culture, including pig collectibles, pigs in ads, and popular porkers such as Porky Pig and Piglet.

Also recommended: "The Complete Cow," "About Cows," "A Farm Country Christmas," and "This Old Farm."

Town Square Books from Voyageur Press provide entertaining, in-depth coverage of popular cultural icons, collectibles, nostalgia, and Americana. Town Square Books have an appealing balance of lively text, crisp full-color photography, and careful reproduction of rare archival material.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #486100 in Books
• Published on: 2000-06-22
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 144 pages

From Library Journal
Loaded with a fine assortment of photographs and illustrations, old and new, this is a collection of all kinds of interesting and amusing facts, phrases, stories, folklore, and history about pigs. Emphasized throughout is our human relationships with pigs in mythology and literature, as pets and entertainment, as the objects of sport hunting and as hunters (for truffles), and, of course, as food for the table. Readers will learn to say "oink" in 19 different languages, what the apple stuffed in the mouth of the wild boar's head served at Christmas in Old England represented, the highest price ever paid for a hog, when National Pig Day occurs, what souse is, and how the term ham actor came about. This is a fun, upbeat book that doesn't delve deeply into modern, large-scale swine production and its animal welfare and environmental issues. Rath recently gave bovines a similar treatment in The Complete Cow (Voyageur, 1998). Recommended especially for public libraries.DWilliam H. Wiese, Iowa State Univ. Lib., Ames
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review
...contains enough eccentric pig lore to leave the browser giddy with pleasure. And browsing is in order. -- The New York Times Book Review, Sarah Ferrell

About the Author
Sara Rath of Elm Grove, Wisconsin is the author of Voyageur Press' "The Complete Cow" and "About Cows," one novel, and four volumes of poetry. She also writes short stories, non-fiction articles, radio scripts, and screenplays for public TV and film. The granddaughter of a prizewinning cheesemaker, Sara has been heavily influenced by the rural landscape, as evidenced in her writing.

Customer Reviews

the best
THIS IS SUCH A GREAT BOOK!!! I have always loved pigs and this book told me all these interesting facts. I have always loved the movie "Babe" and it is nice to know there are people out there that like pigs too. My friends who is obsessed about pigs liked this book too.

From greased and flying pigs to pigs as pets
Pigs and pig collectives are featured in this in-depth survey of the actual pig in fact and legend. From greased and flying pigs to pigs as pets and pig collectibles, this provides an entertaining history of the pig complete with full-page color photos of both swine and objects of art, perfect as a coffee table addition for the pig affectionado.

PEARLS TO SWINE
Actually, I hate pearls and love pigs!
In fact, I've never met a pig I didn't like. Call it pork, ham, bacon, sausage, lechón, tostón, cochon, barbecued ribs, zhu rou, carnitas, cochinita, prosciutto, sanglier, cinghiale, kielbasa, jabugo, guijuelo, bratwurst, Porky, Arnold, Salomey, Old Major, Napoleon, Snowball, Squealer, Piglet, Babe, Pumba, Razorback, Hamm, Wilbur, Vanz (kant dance), Fifer, Fiddler, Practical, or Miss Piggy, I love it! Pearls, on the other hand, I can't even look at them, let alone touch one!

As for the book, it's beautiful, has lots of interesting information, lush photos and funny hog memorabilia. Makes a great gift; the PORKfect coffeetable book for the pig lover in you, or for ultimate boars like me.