• Paperback
  • Ebook

Beyond Words (Ebook)

What Animals Think and Feel

Carl Safina

In a world where we measure animals by human standards, prize-winning author and MacArthur Fellow Carl Safina takes us inside their minds, witnessing their profound capacity for perception, thought and emotion

THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

I wanted to know what they were experiencing, and why to us they feel so compelling, and so close. This time I allowed myself to ask them the question that for a scientist was forbidden fruit: Who are you?

Weaving decades of field observations with exciting new discoveries about the brain, Carl Safina's landmark book offers an intimate view of animal behavior to challenge the fixed boundary between humans and animals. Travelling to the threatened landscape of Kenya to witness struggling elephant families work out how to survive poaching and drought, then on to Yellowstone National Park to observe wolves sort out the aftermath of one pack's personal tragedy, the book finally plunges into the astonishingly peaceful society of killer whales living in the crystalline waters of the Pacific Northwest. Beyond Words brings forth powerful and illuminating insight into the unique personalities of animals through extraordinary stories of animal joy, grief, jealousy, anger, and love. The similarity between human and nonhuman consciousness, self-awareness and empathy calls us to re-evaluate how we interact with animals. Wise, passionate, and eye-opening at every turn, Beyond Words is ultimately a graceful examination of humanity's place in the world.

Beyond Words (Paperback)

What Animals Think and Feel

Carl Safina

In a world where we measure animals by human standards, prize-winning author and MacArthur Fellow Carl Safina takes us inside their minds, witnessing their profound capacity for perception, thought and emotion

THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

I wanted to know what they were experiencing, and why to us they feel so compelling, and so close. This time I allowed myself to ask them the question that for a scientist was forbidden fruit: Who are you?

Weaving decades of field observations with exciting new discoveries about the brain, Carl Safina's landmark book offers an intimate view of animal behavior to challenge the fixed boundary between humans and animals. Travelling to the threatened landscape of Kenya to witness struggling elephant families work out how to survive poaching and drought, then on to Yellowstone National Park to observe wolves sort out the aftermath of one pack's personal tragedy, the book finally plunges into the astonishingly peaceful society of killer whales living in the crystalline waters of the Pacific Northwest. Beyond Words brings forth powerful and illuminating insight into the unique personalities of animals through extraordinary stories of animal joy, grief, jealousy, anger, and love. The similarity between human and nonhuman consciousness, self-awareness and empathy calls us to re-evaluate how we interact with animals. Wise, passionate, and eye-opening at every turn, Beyond Words is ultimately a graceful examination of humanity's place in the world.

Reviews for Beyond Words

'Dr. Safina is a terrific writer, with a contagious enthusiasm ... draws out haunting resonances between animal lives and our own ... Captivating'

New York Times

'At once moving and surprising, Beyond Words asks us to reexamine our relationship to other species-and to ourselves'

Elizabeth Kolbert, author ofThe Sixth Extinction

'This book breathes love of and respect for animals and is rich with observations and extraordinary travel experiences. It is a delightful and enlightening account of both how we relate to them and how they relate to each other'

Frans de Waal

'Combines lambent writing with dazzling facts, while also illuminating our knowledge of significant and engaging subjects ... Exemplary'

Washington Post

'Wise, passionate, and eye-opening at every turn, Beyond Words is ultimately a graceful examination of humanity's place in the world'

Psychology Today

'Safina's engaging writing takes readers along on his journey ... The result is a meandering, entertaining tour of the animal kingdom, with pit stops for both amusing anecdotes and the latest scientific studies of animal behavior ... entertaining and informative'

Slate

'Brilliant ... makes intimate these wild animals in vivid family portraits ... Safina is a font of research, his wonder contagious'

Elle

'Safina offers a rich and often heart-touching account of his journeys with scientists exploring the minds and emotions of elephants, wolves, and dolphins. His compassion and empathy for animals shines throughout, and he uses both to illuminate the booming field of animal cognition. A beautifully written, accessible, and compelling read'

Virginia Morrell, author ofAnimal Wise: How We Know Animals Think and Feel

Carl Safina

Carl Safina

Carl Safina is the founder of the Safina Center, which works to fuse scientific understanding of nature with a moral call to heal the natural world. He holds the chair for Nature and Humanity at Stony Brook University. Carl Safina has also presented the 10-part TV series Saving the Ocean with Carl Safina, and his TED talk (based on Beyond Words ) has been viewed several million times.