Reviewed By Terri Schlichenmeyer
Movie makers love the downtrodden. Think about it: how
many orphans are there in the movies? Or lost animals?
Or people with evil stepmothers, nasty bosses, or
snarling rivals?
And then there are rats. They’re in the movies now, but
twenty years ago, the rat came up as the Number One
least-liked critter. You can’t get any more downtrodden
than that, can you?
But do rats deserve their bad press? Read the new book Rat: How the World’s Most
Notorious Rodent Clawed Its Way to the Top by Jerry Langton, and you might think
differently about them.
Or maybe not.
Just about everybody knows the story about how ancient canines followed ancient
humans back to the cave and eventually got their own seat at the hearth. Langton says
that rats did almost the same thing, but they didn’t wait for the welcome mat. Rats just
moved on in. They liked it so much that they stuck around, but while that mostly one-
sided relationship is great for the rat, it isn’t always good for us.
While Langton says there has never been a recorded death from rabies transmitted by a
rat in North America, that doesn’t mean you should beg for a bite, because rat bites can
be nasty and can transmit bacteria such as leptospirosis. Rats, of course, can carry fleas
and fleas can carry deadly bubonic plague. Rat droppings (or “rat raisins,” to rat-lovers)
and rat urine can transmit the hanta-virus.
But inhaling contaminated dust isn’t the only danger from rat-waste that humans endure.
Grain-storage units are like a neon-flashing all-you-can-eat buffet for a rodent, and since
rats “dribble” to mark territory, millions of tons of grain are ruined each year by rats that
roam over their food source.
But wait, rat aficionados are saying. Little Wiffle is a great pet, he’s smart and he knows
his name. Langton might not agree with that, but he didn’t ignore rat fans here. In his
book, he talked to rat owners who adore their pets, and he met with people that work with
rats, including sewer workers who learn to “listen” to rats and an exterminator who
grudgingly indicates a bit of awe about the animals he’s hired to kill.
If you have one ounce of paranoia in your brain, Rat: How the World’s Most Notorious
Rodent Clawed Its Way to the Top will have you checking the toilet seats (are they down?)
and looking along the baseboards at restaurants (don’t ask). Author Jerry Langton doesn’
t indicate a love or hate for rats, but it’s easy to tell that he’s fascinated by them because
of his creepy-fun stories, the I-didn’t-know-that facts he offers, and the way he’s so
methodically studied the rodents. This is an easy-to-read book despite the subject
matter, and it’ll definitely be a conversation-starter wherever you carry it.
Skitter on out, pick up a copy of Rat and face your fears. This book is an eeeeuuuwww-
inducing delight and anyone with a sense of the unusual will squeak with pleasure to
read it.
Notorious Rodent Clawed Its Way to the Top by Jerry Langton, and you might think
differently about them.
Or maybe not.
Just about everybody knows the story about how ancient canines followed ancient
humans back to the cave and eventually got their own seat at the hearth. Langton says
that rats did almost the same thing, but they didn’t wait for the welcome mat. Rats just
moved on in. They liked it so much that they stuck around, but while that mostly one-
sided relationship is great for the rat, it isn’t always good for us.
While Langton says there has never been a recorded death from rabies transmitted by a
rat in North America, that doesn’t mean you should beg for a bite, because rat bites can
be nasty and can transmit bacteria such as leptospirosis. Rats, of course, can carry fleas
and fleas can carry deadly bubonic plague. Rat droppings (or “rat raisins,” to rat-lovers)
and rat urine can transmit the hanta-virus.
But inhaling contaminated dust isn’t the only danger from rat-waste that humans endure.
Grain-storage units are like a neon-flashing all-you-can-eat buffet for a rodent, and since
rats “dribble” to mark territory, millions of tons of grain are ruined each year by rats that
roam over their food source.
But wait, rat aficionados are saying. Little Wiffle is a great pet, he’s smart and he knows
his name. Langton might not agree with that, but he didn’t ignore rat fans here. In his
book, he talked to rat owners who adore their pets, and he met with people that work with
rats, including sewer workers who learn to “listen” to rats and an exterminator who
grudgingly indicates a bit of awe about the animals he’s hired to kill.
If you have one ounce of paranoia in your brain, Rat: How the World’s Most Notorious
Rodent Clawed Its Way to the Top will have you checking the toilet seats (are they down?)
and looking along the baseboards at restaurants (don’t ask). Author Jerry Langton doesn’
t indicate a love or hate for rats, but it’s easy to tell that he’s fascinated by them because
of his creepy-fun stories, the I-didn’t-know-that facts he offers, and the way he’s so
methodically studied the rodents. This is an easy-to-read book despite the subject
matter, and it’ll definitely be a conversation-starter wherever you carry it.
Skitter on out, pick up a copy of Rat and face your fears. This book is an eeeeuuuwww-
inducing delight and anyone with a sense of the unusual will squeak with pleasure to
read it.
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