I first read Adam's Task before Amazon existed. I order it periodically to give to people, particularly expecting parents. I am mystified by the strong, negative comments. On some levels it is a difficult book. Vicki Hearne's understanding of modern philosophy might easily put off many readers, but her deeper message about learning is important: it comes with caring, knowing discipline. This applies to all trainable beings, including to us humans. At one point she described her initial training of a dog. She first has to get the dog's attention. She does this by walking briskly in the opposite direction of the dog's whim. Gradually the dog gets the message and eventually returns to her, sits, and looks up at her as if to say, "What is this crazy lady going to do next?" And she replies, "and you better know what you are going to do next!" The dog has begun to comprehend that there is a conversation to be had: it sits; it is beginning to comprehend the sit command. Such comprehension brings with it from the trainer, the handler, the parent, the teacher the clear reminder of a duty: if you are going to engage someone in the sit command, you better know what you are going to do next. Much parenting fails miserably when a parent isn't up to this duty.This book is not merely a book about training dogs and horses; it is a far more important book about learning who we are, whether it is a search dog that will not quit until it has found the lost child; the horse that will finish a steeplechase with a lame rider; or a doctor or a fireman or a policeman who won't quit until the job is done. It is about true learning.