Yes, you have read correctly and no, we have not suddenly abandoned all spelling rules. This is really about the "illustrated animal life" and about a book that is unusual in every respect and well worth seeing.
Are you still looking for a nice Christmas present or would you like to spend the holidays with a special book? Then the "Illustrirte Thierleben" is just the thing. Mark Benecke is an internationally renowned criminal biologist and uses insect observation to solve deaths. He is also a member of the Ig Nobel Prize for Curious Sciences and chairman of the Transylvanian Dracula Society. Kat Menschik is an illustrator and enjoys listening to Benecke's animal observations on the radio. At some point she had the bright idea of writing a book together with Benecke.
The "Illustrirte Thierleben" is now available and the little book is a real delight. The richly illustrated and embossed cover already shows that a great deal of care has been taken in terms of editorial design, a black color cut gives the whole thing a slightly morbid feel and the content is indeed also repeatedly about bizarre and strange animal stories. We encounter ashamed dogs and drunken moose as well as necrophiliac ducks. Ducks play an important role, because Mark Benecke is also a big fan of the animal world that Carl Barks created in his comics and that Erika Fuchs provided with wonderful word creations for the German market.
The "Illustrirte Thierleben" delights every designer's heart and is very entertaining to read. It's also educational - for example, do you know the difference between an oven fish and a sugar glutton? Well, you don't need to know, but it's great if you do.
"Kat Menschik und des Diplom-Biologen Doctor Rerum Medicinalium Mark Beneckes Illustrirtes Thierleben" is available from Galiani Verlag, where you can also watch a video of the elaborate production process: www.galiani.de
