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Watership Down by Richard Adams (Author)

Amazon.com: Watership Down has been a staple of high-school English classes for years. Despite the fact that it's often a hard sell at first (what teenager wouldn't cringe at the thought of 400-plus pages of talking rabbits?), Richard Adams's bunny-centric epic rarely fails to win the love and respect of anyone who reads it, regardless of age. Like most great novels, Watership Down is a rich story that can be read (and reread) on many different levels. The book is often praised as an allegory, with its analogs between human and rabbit culture (a fact sometimes used to goad skeptical teens, who resent the challenge that they won't "get" it, into reading it), but it's equally praiseworthy as just a corking good adventure.

The story follows a warren of Berkshire rabbits fleeing the destruction of their home by a land developer. As they search for a safe haven, skirting danger at every turn, we become acquainted with the band and its compelling culture and mythos. Adams has crafted a touching, involving world in the dirt and scrub of the English countryside, complete with its own folk history and language (the book comes with a "lapine" glossary, a guide to rabbitese). As much about freedom, ethics, and human nature as it is about a bunch of bunnies looking for a warm hidey-hole and some mates, Watership Down will continue to make the transition from classroom desk to bedside table for many generations to come. --Paul Hughes

Plague Dogs by Richard Adams (Author)

Book Description: Snitter and Rowf, escapees from a vivisection lab, make for the desolate heaths and the windy countryside of England's Lake District. There, aided by a crafty fox, they raid chicken coops, kill sheep and forage for sustenance. They hide in abandoned caves and mine shafts.

Local farmers, incensed by their losses, set traps and organize hunts. A reporter announces that Snitter and Rowf may be carrying bubonic plague. Panic follows. The hunt intensifies, driving the dogs deeper into a wilderness bereft of hope.

"Part marvelous adventure, part diatribe against those who torture animals. An excellent drama." (Newsweek)

Tales from Watership Down by Richard Adams (Author)

Amazon.com: The original Watership Down is one of those wonderful works that appeals to readers both young and old. The story of a group of rabbits on an adventure into unfamiliar yards, farms, and fields made for an imaginative, captivating journey. This latest work follows the aftermath of the original's climactic ending and includes the rabbits' retelling of various myths associated with their rabbit-hood, plus some new twists and developments. This is a captivating introduction to Adams's warren for first-time visitors, and those who loved the original Watership Down won't be disappointed.

Shardik by Richard Adams

From Library Journal: Shardik was Adams's 1974 follow-up to his phenomenally popular debut, Watership Down. The title character is a gigantic bear who is the god of the primitive Ortelgan people. The hunter Kelderek becomes Shardik's greatest disciple and, eventually, ruler when the bear finally does make its return. On the surface, the book works as a fantasy adventure; on a deeper level, it explores our relationship with the divine. No matter what you want to see in it, Shardik is a good read.
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