Dedicated to the Adorable, Useless Floof

Jonathan Saha is an associate professor of history at Durham University in England. His latest book is Colonizing Animals: Interspecies Empire in Myanmar (Bookshop|Amazon), which chronicles how the lives of animals were irrevocably changed by British imperialism. The dedication page is one that any ailurophile will appreciate. It reads For Toast, the cat, who was no help at all. This is part of a complete episode.
Transcript of “Dedicated to the Adorable, Useless Floof”

Jonathan Sahat is an associate professor of history at Durham University in England.

And he just published a book that contains one of the great dedications of all time.

Apparently his cat’s name is Toast, T-O-A-S-T, and the dedication page reads simply, for Toast, the cat, who was no help at all.

I think anybody who has ever sat at a computer along with a cat in the room knows what we’re talking about.

Yeah, it reminds me of those pictures that make the rounds every once in a while of ancient manuscripts 1,000, 1,500 years ago that show cats traipsing through ink, leaving their little footprints on manuscripts along the margins.

I should also mention that Dr. Saha studies colonial Myanmar, and his book is titled Colonizing Animals’ Interspecies Empire in Myanmar, and it’s about how the lives of animals were irrevocably changed by British imperialism.

Oh, so he’s like constantly turning to Toast saying, well, what do you think about that Toast?

And Toast just grooming, licking a paw, staring blankly back.

Send us your favorite book dedications, words@waywordradio.org.

And tag us in your pictures of your cats on Twitter @wayword.

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