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276 reviews for:
The Secret Life of Animals: What They Feel, How They Communicate – Discovering a Hidden World
Peter Wohlleben
3.68 AVERAGE
276 reviews for:
The Secret Life of Animals: What They Feel, How They Communicate – Discovering a Hidden World
Peter Wohlleben
3.68 AVERAGE
informative
inspiring
relaxing
slow-paced
It's not a bad book per sé, however it is a very anecdotal heavy based book. And that is always a cause for scepticism. Add on top of that that I discovered some scientific inaccuracies, I would say there are better books to discover this subject. The only way I'd reccommend this is if it was for someone who would just get into this genre of books.
Take author Frans de Waal, with his books 'Age of Empathy' and 'Are we smart enough to know how smart animals are'. That would be a much better read then this.
Take author Frans de Waal, with his books 'Age of Empathy' and 'Are we smart enough to know how smart animals are'. That would be a much better read then this.
Since this book didn't bring any knew knowledge for me, it would really have been a 3/3,5* book. However, since the theme is incredibly important it definitely gets 4*. It's also easily read, well told and Wohlleben's own farm runs as a red thread through the chapters.
It's incredibly daft that people think animals - even mammals - can feel neither pain nor emotions. As mammals we have a similar evolutionary path behind us and a need for social bonding. If you're social, you need emotions or it just isn't going to work. Not just fear! Love, hate, shame, regret and empathy as well. That animals can have fun and spend energy on something that is not a means to an end everyone who has a pet knows. My youngest dog has a ”play bark” and plays with imaginary friends and foes (since my older dog won't accommodate).
This is not a cutting edge book. It mixes anecdotes with empirical and scientific evidence. It's well worth reading anyway. Hopefully this book will increase our level of empathy with the fellow creatures we share this planet with, and that we on a grand scale, treat so ill.
It's incredibly daft that people think animals - even mammals - can feel neither pain nor emotions. As mammals we have a similar evolutionary path behind us and a need for social bonding. If you're social, you need emotions or it just isn't going to work. Not just fear! Love, hate, shame, regret and empathy as well. That animals can have fun and spend energy on something that is not a means to an end everyone who has a pet knows. My youngest dog has a ”play bark” and plays with imaginary friends and foes (since my older dog won't accommodate).
This is not a cutting edge book. It mixes anecdotes with empirical and scientific evidence. It's well worth reading anyway. Hopefully this book will increase our level of empathy with the fellow creatures we share this planet with, and that we on a grand scale, treat so ill.
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
hopeful
informative
fast-paced
This was an enjoyable and quick read (well, really listen, as I listened to the audiobook). It has some cool information about different species of animals, along with some fun anecdotes. The book does fit into a weird grey area. It is very upfront about the fact that it's not a scientific book, which leads to a lot of the segments feeling like they lack flesh and substance. While I appreciated the way it blends information and observation, it felt a bit superfluous--for animal lovers, who I assume will be a large audience for this book, it doesn't really present anything new.
Don't get me wrong, it's a worthwhile read, and I definitely still want to check out Hidden Life of Trees, the precursor to this book. I think trees are more mysterious to humans, and so the author's voice will be more appropriate for that topic.
Don't get me wrong, it's a worthwhile read, and I definitely still want to check out Hidden Life of Trees, the precursor to this book. I think trees are more mysterious to humans, and so the author's voice will be more appropriate for that topic.
This felt like a waste of time. It was just one dude who was simply observing how nature is and speculating whether they had higher cognitive functions but not really giving much scientific basis (there were a few but hardly anything substantial at least). He told stories about animals that were on his farm (and birds) and how he thinks they experienced the world... What bothered me the most is how he was trying to be comical about his stories. In particular, he described something upsetting an animal experienced and tried to make it a joke. I thought this book was about trying to show the humility that animals possess, yet he ended up being distateful. Again, waste of my time.
Delightful reading, full of interesting observations in both senses of the word!
This book isn't a comprehensive review of all the current science on animals, and it never claims to be. It's an educated, informed, gentle and very open-minded take on whether some of our baseline assumptions might just be wrong.
Questions lead to more questions most of the time here.
The chapters are short, small bites to digest as you wish. There are many keen, moving, funny and just generally fascinating descriptions of wild & domestic animal behaviour, with possible interpretations of it.
The author's enthusiasm and inquisitiveness is disarming and makes it a joy to read, and worth the possible odd glances from laughing out loud.
Having seen the author speak in person, I can say his gentle and curious-about-everything passion was well-translated into this book.
The only "moralizing" (far too strong a term) he makes is that absence of proof isn't proof of absence (of feelings, thoughts etc), so why not err on the side of decency & caution and treat nature a little better, and consume less. This seems such a basic level of reasonableness that I cannot understand the claim that he's "preachy". I'm not a vegetarian & he's not scolding except for some justified skepticism about the vested interests of industrial-scale animal farming having an inordinate effect on policy.
I do find the author's comments that hunting is no longer necessary to be only applicable to Europe, not say the Americas. This is my only complaint, & it may be just a function of the book's (original) intended audience.
I highly recommend reading this in a park if you can manage it, the pages come even further alive :)
Note--I read this in a paperback form, published by The Bodley Head (a division of Vintage Publishing, London) in 2017. It was special-ordered for me as a gift so I don't know if there are variances from a N. American paperback version. The cover & title is the same as the one shown here so I used it!
This book isn't a comprehensive review of all the current science on animals, and it never claims to be. It's an educated, informed, gentle and very open-minded take on whether some of our baseline assumptions might just be wrong.
Questions lead to more questions most of the time here.
The chapters are short, small bites to digest as you wish. There are many keen, moving, funny and just generally fascinating descriptions of wild & domestic animal behaviour, with possible interpretations of it.
The author's enthusiasm and inquisitiveness is disarming and makes it a joy to read, and worth the possible odd glances from laughing out loud.
Having seen the author speak in person, I can say his gentle and curious-about-everything passion was well-translated into this book.
The only "moralizing" (far too strong a term) he makes is that absence of proof isn't proof of absence (of feelings, thoughts etc), so why not err on the side of decency & caution and treat nature a little better, and consume less. This seems such a basic level of reasonableness that I cannot understand the claim that he's "preachy". I'm not a vegetarian & he's not scolding except for some justified skepticism about the vested interests of industrial-scale animal farming having an inordinate effect on policy.
I do find the author's comments that hunting is no longer necessary to be only applicable to Europe, not say the Americas. This is my only complaint, & it may be just a function of the book's (original) intended audience.
I highly recommend reading this in a park if you can manage it, the pages come even further alive :)
Note--I read this in a paperback form, published by The Bodley Head (a division of Vintage Publishing, London) in 2017. It was special-ordered for me as a gift so I don't know if there are variances from a N. American paperback version. The cover & title is the same as the one shown here so I used it!
Just as fascinating as his book about the hidden life of trees.
The keyword here is 'observations'.
This book is a collection of observations that the author has made in regards to animals. There is a lot of anthropomorphising of animals and little scientific evidence.
Nonetheless, it's still a thought-provoking and interesting read.
This book is a collection of observations that the author has made in regards to animals. There is a lot of anthropomorphising of animals and little scientific evidence.
Nonetheless, it's still a thought-provoking and interesting read.