Reviews

Beyond Words: What Animals Think and Feel by Carl Safina

terrypaulpearce's review

2.0

A shame, this one. It was at its best when it commented on the animals' lives and left you to draw your own conclusions about their inner lives. But far too often it rambled far, far off course. A good editor could've cut half, and the folksy style didn't resonate with me at all. For somebody who repeatedly claimed to be following the science, it strayed dangerously close to woo a few times, and argument after argument boiled down to suppositions and assumptions.

It's not really a very scientific book at all, which left travelogue and experience as to what it should have focused on -- and again, when it did that well, it had some great passages on the lives of wolves and elephants... just enough to get me to finish it.

If you're interested in the broad aim of this book but want something much better written, I strongly recommend Frans de Waal's 'Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are?'.

valen92's review

5.0

So fascinating and necessary, everyone should read this book. Animals are the best.

dlrcope's review

5.0

This book is about animal behavior and what it tells us about how animals experience life. Many, many animals are discussed, but there is a focus on elephants, wolves, gorillas, bonobos and orcas. A major theme for me was becoming aware of these animals as individuals, the uniqueness of each one, the possibility is knowing each as an individual. I feel closer to all of them now, more aware of their needs, and how my choices support or harm them.

I hope lots of people read this book and grow in similar ways.

whichthreewords's review

3.0

There's some good stuff in here but frankly I found it a bit of a slog. The clichéd tactic of mocking the titles of papers and tossing insults at behavioural science methods don't add to the book's credibility; I wish the author hadn't stooped to that. Also the endless litany of ways in which humans are horrible to animals adds pathos but is tangential to the main argument -- which is good, although there's more cliché in the inevitable coverage of elephants, wolves and killer whales. Frustrating; IMO this could be brilliant with a good editing.

melledotca's review

5.0

Basically, it will fill you with wonder at how amazing, sensitive, intelligent, and complex animals are. And then it will make you wish people were wiped off the planet so the animals could get on with it (or even just recover from us).

mamacrow's review

5.0

Both uplifting and heartbreaking at times. Carl uses personal and scientific observations, scientific research, and a sense of humor to make a case, one I think that is easily made, about the consciousness and intelligence of animals. From elephants to dogs to whales, Carl argues that we are really just beginning to understand what animals are capable of thinking, which is very tragic because we are doing so much damage to them from our ignorance and apathy. This book brings Carl Sarfina onto my hero list right along side Jane Goodall

jenna_justi2004's review

Forgot I had this book

silvej01's review

5.0

Despite a very strong positive review in the New York Review of Books, I approached this book with trepidation. On the one hand, I was afraid of an overly sentimental sugary depiction of animal emotions. On the other, perhaps it would be cold, highly technical and data driven (even though this latter pole is the sort of writing I do for a living). In fact, Safina walks the line between these two extremes and has written a powerful book that changes the way one looks at the world of living things -- particularly, but not only, the other mammals that inhabit the Earth.

mangela_28's review against another edition

informative

4.25

acopytopy's review against another edition

adventurous informative medium-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Minor: Sexual content