Review by Booklist Review
Wohlleben (The Hidden Life of Trees, 2016) offers an insightful consideration of the emotional and cognitive lives of animals. He takes a broad view, presenting stories about the behavior of various creatures including pigs, ticks, ravens, and bats. He is careful not to assign human feelings to the animals he writes about, but readers will be hard-pressed not to notice familiar reactions in both the engaging anecdotes and the clear scientific research he shares, and Wohlleben is conscious of this perspective throughout as he writes of animal regret, bravery, and empathy. The narrative is directed firmly at armchair naturalists and curious animal lovers who are intrigued by the possibilities presented by their pets' guilty or happy facial expressions or the chatty, communal behavior of birds flitting through their backyards. Wohlleben is also curious and proves a congenial guide as he strays beyond the familiar realms of dogs, cats, and bunnies. While this doesn't cover all-new territory, it does illuminate a field worthy of endless study, and pet owners especially will find it a winning read--Mondor, Colleen Copyright 2017 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
German forester and author Wohlleben follows The Hidden Life of Trees by turning his attention from flora to fauna, thoughtfully exploring questions about the range of emotions experienced by animals. In 41 short chapters, he considers examples of animals exhibiting humanlike feelings, including love, courage, desire, grief, regret, and playfulness, weaving a web of delightful and stirring anecdotes drawn from personal observations and scientific studies. The mating rituals of Wohlleben's family's billy goat may be attributed to instinct, but his descriptions of more complex emotions, such as the embarrassment he says the younger of their two horses shows if they reprimand her in front of an older horse or the gratitude demonstrated by crows, are more intriguing. Wohlleben's anecdotes are enjoyable and thought-provoking, and take on a certain heft when shared alongside examples he takes from published scientific research, such as Koko, a female gorilla who learned to use sign language with help from a researcher at Stanford University. Wohlleben quickly whisks readers from one example to another, but they will find the brief encounters and Wohlleben's musings enchanting and enlightening. (Nov.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Review by Library Journal Review
Wohlleben (The Hidden Life of Trees) states that animals have feelings, intelligence, and self-awareness. Although his narrative has keen observations and scientific support, his overall argument lacks coherence, depth, and rigor. Nearly half of the book separates basic information on senses from cognition, and a chapter on knowing animal minds is near the book's end, rather than laying a foundation. The author omits information that completes a picture of featured subjects and species. For example, his chapter on wildness leaves out feral creatures. Also, Wohlleben discusses parental investment without R and K selection and honeybee thermoregulation without mitochondria. Readers interested in animal intelligence will be better served by other works, including Carl Safina's Beyond Words, Mark Bekoff's Minding Animals, and James L. and Carol L. Gould's The Animal Mind. Verdict Those wanting fresh insight on animal thought should look elsewhere.-Eileen H. Kramer, Georgia Perimeter Coll. Lib., Clarkston © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
