Angels of August

The invasion of the Fur People was formally documented circa 3500 years back surfacing first in the historic records of ancient Egypt (when to kill a cat evoked an immediate death sentence). Times may change - human nature does not. Cats continue to steal into our homes and hearts soul-stalkers and life-gladdeners. Mohammed who instructed that his flowing sleeve be sheared rather than disturb a sleeping cat gave us another re-minder how God made the cat so we lowly humans might ex-perience the rapture of caressing the tiger. Nobody recreates this wonder better than Michael Hathaway. Hathaway's feline family album is a joyous addition to an elite body of literature: All Cats Go to Heaven edited by Beth Brown; Tailchaser's Song by Tad Williams; 101 Favorite Cat Poems compiled by Sara L. Whittier; Magicats edited by Jack Dann and Gardner Dozois; Advanced French for Exceptional Cats by Henri de la Barbe (Henry Beard); Cry of the Panther by Vietnam veteran James P. McMullen (whose daily journal observed the habitat and travel patterns of Florida panthers in the Everglades) and Catsnaps by Martin Leman.