The Animal Mind

by Jeffrey Kluger

The Animal Mind is a fascinating journey to the inner workings of animal behavior; what the latest scientific research shows us about how animals think, feel and act. How they're like us - and how they're not. PLUS: Animal-behavior expert Temple Grandin on why cats and dogs think about us differently.

Genres: Nonfiction

112 pages, Unknown Binding

First published January 1, 2014

About the author

Jeffrey Kluger is Editor at Large at Time, where he has written more than 45 cover stories. Coauthor of Lost Moon: The Perilous Voyage of Apollo 13, which was the basis for the movie Apollo 13, he is also the author of 13 other books including his latest book Gemini: Stepping Stone to the Moon, the Untold Story.

Reviews

[Sherry Monger · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a society we have come to understand that animals have feelings, deserve respect and often protection. While exploitation has characterized our relationship with animals over thousands of years, scientists have confirmed that animals experience love, fear and dread. They communicate with each other, grieve when a community member dies and suffer mental illness when abused. Reading the latest in research, amplified by examples and pictures, sensitizes the reader to consider the needs of not only our pets, but of all animals occupying the planet with us.

[Annie Kookie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The concepts of animals feeling and understanding deeper emotions and complex ideas is not a new one, however this was a nice overview, perhaps something that would make someone ponder the capabilities and intelligence of species we consider to be lesser than humans. I found the story at the beginning of the (gorilla?) reading, understanding words, composing sentences, and the anecdotes showing his deeper knowledge to be quite brilliant and enjoyable.

[Kasandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a lot in here is new, but it's great reading for young adults (written on that basic level), with wonderful photographs. I picked this up to kill time while getting my hair done, and intend to keep it to read to my nieces. It won't turn anyone you know into a vegetarian, most likely, but for those who haven't given animal rights much thought, it might spark some further reading.

[Marci Koski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting information and concepts. Easy to read, but definitely a little anthropomorphic on the author's part, who shows his biases and opinions of what animals do and don't comprehend and feel. But that was part of the point of the book, too, so I can't fault him too much!

[Miranda · Rating 4 out of 5]

For those not in the industry, this is a great overview of the state of research on non-human animals.

[Sandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this...think all of the human species should read it.

[Xavier · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learned lots about how animals think and how better to understand them.

[Ethan Humphrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book because i agreed with everything they said about animals, they had some good information and I thought about animal mind.