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Animate: How Animals Shape the Human Mind
'An astonishing adventure' – Isabella Tree, author of Wilding
'Teeming with life' – The Irish Times
'Enchanting' – New Scientist
'Absorbing' – Country Life
A mind-expanding deep dive into how animals have shaped us, from the Paleolithic to the present day.
In Animate, science writer Michael Bond explores how animals have profoundly influenced our minds and cultures. Drawing on cutting-edge insights from psychology, anthropology, literature and neuroscience, Bond traces the varied ways their lives have affected ours, from our hunter-gatherer ancestors whose brains were rewired by the prey they hunted and the predators they feared, to the medieval and Enlightenment thinkers who used animals to promote notions of human supremacy.
Scientists today are challenging the assumption that we are separate from and superior to animals, showing that they too possess intelligence, empathy, creativity and even the ability to use tools. If everything that supposedly makes us human is shared with other creatures, where does that leave us? And if we are not as exceptional as we thought, how should we be treating the animals we live alongside?
A fascinating exploration of what it means to be both human and animal, Animate shows that to better understand ourselves, we must pay more attention to the other beings with whom we share our world.
'Teeming with life' – The Irish Times
'Enchanting' – New Scientist
'Absorbing' – Country Life
A mind-expanding deep dive into how animals have shaped us, from the Paleolithic to the present day.
In Animate, science writer Michael Bond explores how animals have profoundly influenced our minds and cultures. Drawing on cutting-edge insights from psychology, anthropology, literature and neuroscience, Bond traces the varied ways their lives have affected ours, from our hunter-gatherer ancestors whose brains were rewired by the prey they hunted and the predators they feared, to the medieval and Enlightenment thinkers who used animals to promote notions of human supremacy.
Scientists today are challenging the assumption that we are separate from and superior to animals, showing that they too possess intelligence, empathy, creativity and even the ability to use tools. If everything that supposedly makes us human is shared with other creatures, where does that leave us? And if we are not as exceptional as we thought, how should we be treating the animals we live alongside?
A fascinating exploration of what it means to be both human and animal, Animate shows that to better understand ourselves, we must pay more attention to the other beings with whom we share our world.
311 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 19, 2026
About the author
Michael Bond
686 books430 followersMichael Bond, CBE was an English children's author. He was the creator of Paddington Bear and wrote about the adventures of a guinea pig named Olga da Polga, as well as the animated BBC TV series The Herbs. Bond also wrote culinary mystery stories for adults featuring Monsieur Pamplemousse and his faithful bloodhound, Pommes Frites.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
August 10, 2026
Animate got the gears in my head turning! It is a fascinating history of our close entwinement with animals from our evolutionary roots as Homo sapiens in the wild to being, over the millennia, strangely divorced yet deeply connected to wildness. Animals mean so much to us and yet we keep them at arm's length, their pain and suffering at our hands veiled behind the walls of abattoirs. They remind us of our own demise, of our animality and un-exceptionalism.
The book begins by examining some of the earliest art our early ancestors created. From cave paintings separated by geography and thousands of years comes remarkable renderings of the animals these peoples shared their lives with so closely. Using only tallow candles, paleolithic artists labored to paint animals (and almost solely) animals in mystical, realistic, and honorable ways. These paintings, tens of thousands of years later, still move us today. They reach across time and take our breath away awakening something transcendent hidden deep within us that has been buried by modernity.
But the shift away from viewing animals as equals eventually came. As humans moved out of the wilderness and into society, amassing wealth and power, animals became a thing to exploit. Animals became not something to commune and coexist with but something to dissociate from and use transactionally. Bond (Note: Goodreads has attributed the book to the wrong author. At the time of writing, I have reported the issue but it has not yet been addressed) draws upon a wealth of interdisciplinary research what this shift in relation and thought looked like. How this happened was less clear, however. There is a jarring jump from paleolithic to medieval time periods from chapters 1 and 2 to chapter 3 and onwards. Bond returns to prehistory sparingly throughout the subsequent chapters but this jump in time and awareness of animals left me a bit bewildered. I assumed there would be a more linear narrative thread that instead felt decapitated.
There are plenty of examples Bond draws upon to illustrate his points, however. Unfortuntaely, this becomes tiresome. Paragraphs of animal after animal, for instance, become repitive and I found my eyes glazing over as another list was brought forward to illustrate the myriad animals painted on cave walls, animal names we invoke as pejoratives, and simply the many extant and extinct animals across time.
Even so, I found myself connecting dots between death, animal and human rights, the expanding circle of morality, consciousness, and more that I did not expect to occur. I bookmarked several pages to follow up with for ideas on short stories, further research and reading, and generally provocative ideas. That does not happen regularly for me. This is a valuable read that primes the reader for challenging and insightful conversations from those listed above to the fate of wolves or the nature of pets (dog vs. cat people is very real, for instance).
The book begins by examining some of the earliest art our early ancestors created. From cave paintings separated by geography and thousands of years comes remarkable renderings of the animals these peoples shared their lives with so closely. Using only tallow candles, paleolithic artists labored to paint animals (and almost solely) animals in mystical, realistic, and honorable ways. These paintings, tens of thousands of years later, still move us today. They reach across time and take our breath away awakening something transcendent hidden deep within us that has been buried by modernity.
But the shift away from viewing animals as equals eventually came. As humans moved out of the wilderness and into society, amassing wealth and power, animals became a thing to exploit. Animals became not something to commune and coexist with but something to dissociate from and use transactionally. Bond (Note: Goodreads has attributed the book to the wrong author. At the time of writing, I have reported the issue but it has not yet been addressed) draws upon a wealth of interdisciplinary research what this shift in relation and thought looked like. How this happened was less clear, however. There is a jarring jump from paleolithic to medieval time periods from chapters 1 and 2 to chapter 3 and onwards. Bond returns to prehistory sparingly throughout the subsequent chapters but this jump in time and awareness of animals left me a bit bewildered. I assumed there would be a more linear narrative thread that instead felt decapitated.
There are plenty of examples Bond draws upon to illustrate his points, however. Unfortuntaely, this becomes tiresome. Paragraphs of animal after animal, for instance, become repitive and I found my eyes glazing over as another list was brought forward to illustrate the myriad animals painted on cave walls, animal names we invoke as pejoratives, and simply the many extant and extinct animals across time.
Even so, I found myself connecting dots between death, animal and human rights, the expanding circle of morality, consciousness, and more that I did not expect to occur. I bookmarked several pages to follow up with for ideas on short stories, further research and reading, and generally provocative ideas. That does not happen regularly for me. This is a valuable read that primes the reader for challenging and insightful conversations from those listed above to the fate of wolves or the nature of pets (dog vs. cat people is very real, for instance).
June 22, 2026
Informative, fascinating, and entertaining!
Most people would probably agree that animals have had a significant effect on humans for throughout history, but Michael Bond traces how animals have affected us (and we have affected them!) much further back than I would have expected. Although we do not have written records from early history, in southern France and northern Spain, there are caves with paintings, engravings, and sculptures from 40,000 years ago! From that beginning, Bond describes the many types of relationships we have had with animals and the influences they have had on us.
Animate draws on a LOT of different fields, like anthropology, neuroscience, psychology, and literature to explore our many relationships with other animals. As I read it, I learned a lot that I did not know about both animals and humans, but equally often I found myself thinking, “Wow! I never thought about that!” I also smiled a lot, like when he was talking about the influences animals have on us every day, such as the metaphors we use to describe others people. I certainly know some bullheaded people, even if they do not have fur!
Although it is well written and not difficult, this is not a quick read. Part of this is because it made me stop and muse quite a bit but also because I kept stopping to share tidbits with my husband. I will definitely be nominating Animate for my book group. You do not have to be an animal lover to enjoy it.
I received an advance review copy of this book from Pegasus Books.
Most people would probably agree that animals have had a significant effect on humans for throughout history, but Michael Bond traces how animals have affected us (and we have affected them!) much further back than I would have expected. Although we do not have written records from early history, in southern France and northern Spain, there are caves with paintings, engravings, and sculptures from 40,000 years ago! From that beginning, Bond describes the many types of relationships we have had with animals and the influences they have had on us.
Animate draws on a LOT of different fields, like anthropology, neuroscience, psychology, and literature to explore our many relationships with other animals. As I read it, I learned a lot that I did not know about both animals and humans, but equally often I found myself thinking, “Wow! I never thought about that!” I also smiled a lot, like when he was talking about the influences animals have on us every day, such as the metaphors we use to describe others people. I certainly know some bullheaded people, even if they do not have fur!
Although it is well written and not difficult, this is not a quick read. Part of this is because it made me stop and muse quite a bit but also because I kept stopping to share tidbits with my husband. I will definitely be nominating Animate for my book group. You do not have to be an animal lover to enjoy it.
I received an advance review copy of this book from Pegasus Books.
May 27, 2026
I am not sure if he every really covered how Animals shape our mind. Rather just human-animal relationships and how humans think about humans.
I am also pretty sure he is probeastility... that part came across very strangely.
Overall strange rule, where I didn't really disagree but something about the book felt weird.
I am also pretty sure he is probeastility... that part came across very strangely.
Overall strange rule, where I didn't really disagree but something about the book felt weird.
September 18, 2026
Thoughtful? Yes. Insightful? Yes. Wandering? Definitely. The author does a great job pulling a lot of threads together to discuss the extensive history of how humans apparently have related to animals; but he does seem to meander a lot, until he talks about children and animals, and wolves.
February 7, 2026
A lovely book that spoke to my soul. Why have animals always been so important to me?
Well, they're supposed to me and I'm not alone in this deep feeling.
I will be recommending this book highly.
Well, they're supposed to me and I'm not alone in this deep feeling.
I will be recommending this book highly.
March 31, 2026
Beautifully researched and well-written account of how the history of our complex relationship with animals continues to shape the way we live alongside them today. Warmly recommended.
April 9, 2026
makes ya think
August 18, 2026
An interesting piece of research that is ruined by pseudoscience, rushed conclusions, and anecdotal evidence as fact. Please avoid.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews