Wolf-children and feral man

J. A. L. SINGH and ROBERT M. ZINGG, Wolf-children andferal man, Hamden, Conn., Archon Books, 1966, 8vo, pp. xli, 379, illus., $16.00. Despite the age of this book, a reprint of the first edition of 1942, its existence should be noted in view of the recent works on this interesting topic (Med. Hist., 1975, 19: 407-408). There are two parts: the Reverend Singh on 'The wolf-children of Midnapore', in the form of a diary which relates the development in an orphanage of two Indian children discovered living with wolves; Dr. Zingg, an American anthropologist, on 'Feral [i.e. wild human beings nurtured by animals] man and cases of extreme isolation of individuals', which describes other cases of this condition both in India and in Europe. The diary is a simple record, but nevertheless informative, as well as being a moving record of care and devotion; a commentary by Dr. Zingg accompanies it. In our attempts to differentiate between man and animals this book, and others like it, on wild children add a new dimension to the discussions. They also underline the adaptation that human beings can achieve, and they bring new evidence to the problem of the influence of heredity and environment on behaviour and personality. Quite apart from these fundamental, biological aspects, these books are fascinating and revealing. They raise many more questions concerning psychology, neurology, and ethology.