Timothy; or, Notes of an Abject Reptile

Verlyn Klinkenborg · first published 2006 · ISBN 9780679407287

A book about Timothy, a tortoise inherited by the eighteenth century naturalist Gilbert White. Rather than a straightforward biography, Klinkenborg weaves together White's observations about the tortoise, Klinkenborg's own reflections on animal behavior and longevity, and the strange intimacy between a human and a creature who lives longer than any human relationship. It's part natural history, part philosophical essay.