THE SECRETS OF THE SACRED CAT OF BURMA
by Simone Poirier and Gisele Barnay
Translated by Alwyn Hill

This is the early history of the mysterious Birman, from its first appearance at the first Paris cat show in 1926 accompanied by its strange legend, through the founding of the breed and then its devastation during the horrors of the Second World War, to its restoration from the handful that survived by the use of other breeds.  It reads like a novel but is packed with information and anecdotes and many illustrations of the historical cats whose names appear behind many of today's Birmans.