Bambi - 1970

Long before it became a beloved animated classic, Felix Salten's *Bambi* was a lyrical and surprisingly complex meditation on life, death, and the precarious existence of wild creatures. First published in 1923, this Austrian novel follows a young roe deer from his first trembling steps in the forest through his maturation into a wise and solitary stag. Beautifully illustrated by Barbara Cooney. Salten's forest is no sanitized wilderness. It pulses with beauty and terror in equal measure—the intoxicating freedom of spring mornings, the warmth of his mother's protection, but also the sudden crack of gunfire, the bewildering appearance of the mysterious "He" (humans who intrude with devastating consequences), and the harsh lessons of survival. As Bambi grows, he witnesses death, experiences love, and gradually comprehends the eternal cycle that governs his world. What makes *Bambi* enduring is Salten's ability to render animal consciousness with both poetry and philosophical depth. The forest creatures communicate, reason, and reflect on their existence with surprising sophistication, yet remain unmistakably wild. - Bambi: A Life in the Woods - Felix Salten. Illlustrated by Barbara Cooney Printed 1970, Simon and Schuster, New York Hardcover. Approx. 6x9in. 190pp. In fair condition (at best). The outside boards are soiled/stained. But the inside is fine! It would be a shame for this book to not pass through at least another generation's hands.