TOOMEY, Dr. Laura C. Dr. Laura C. Toomey, 79, of Bolton, passed away Saturday (July 26, 2008), after a long and courageous battle with cancer. Laura was born in Manchester, daughter of Olive and David Toomey and was a lifelong Bolton resident. She leaves her brothers, David C. Toomey, Jr. and his wife, Mae, Paul […]
As any English major knows, dream sequences are a staple of many great works of literature. They’re often used as a way to help the reader understand the inner workings of a character’s mind.Professor David Toomey teaches English at UMass Amherst, but in his latest book, Toomey examines a real-life phenomenon that’s barely been studied at all: animal dreams.
There is much interest today in the purpose of play. For humans, it is widely considered important for development, but for animals the role of play is less certain. In this fascinating description of the imaginative and varied play habits of many species of animals, David Toomey considers the purpose of this behavior, and he explains the major views on the subject.
Kingdom of Play: What Ball-bouncing Octopuses, Belly-flopping Monkeys, and Mud-sliding Elephants Reveal about Life Itself bookreporter.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from bookreporter.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
David Toomey is a Professor of English at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, where he teaches courses in writing and in the history of science. He is the author of several books of nonfiction, including WEIRD LIFE and THE NEW TIME TRAVELERS. In his lifetime, he has known and played with a great many animals, both human and non-human.