Beyond Words cover art

Beyond Words

What Animals Think and Feel

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About this listen

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 nonhuman animals. In Beyond Words listeners travel to Amboseli National Park in the threatened landscape of Kenya and witness struggling elephant families work out how to survive poaching and drought, then to Yellowstone National Park to observe wolves sort out the aftermath of one pack's personal tragedy and finally plunge 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 reevaluate 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.

©2015 Carl Safina (P)2015 Tantor Animals Biological Sciences Environment Outdoors & Nature Science Elephant National Park Animal Communication

Critic reviews

"This book breathes love of and respect for animals and is rich with observations and extraordinary travel experiences." (Frans de Waal, author of The Bonobo and the Atheist)
All stars
Most relevant
Extraordinary tales about the social lives and cognitive abilities of elephants, wolves, cetaceans and other animals. A thoroughly enjoyable listen.

Compelling

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Not always a fan of authors narrating their own books, but this one worked well and was read with the right amount of passion and involvement.

Most of the facts and stories were not news to me because of my interest in the subject, but many people will be blown away by some of the content. A must read for humanity I would say.

interesting, informative and entertaining

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Eye opening discoveries about animals that few of us are aware of. A very important topic and book!

Very interesting!

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Fabulous. Thoughtfully challenges the way humans respond to and communicate with other sentient beings. recommended

Communication without words

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I'd arrived here via Humankind by Timothy Morton (Verso 2017). I'd hoped to have my residual prejudices about the limitations of the personhood of other-than-human animals challenged. My expectations were surpassed. Satisfyingly and engagingly read by the author and written from a passionate point of view, the book is rich with astonishing insight into the lives of specific elephants, wolves, dogs, orcas and other creatures. Sometimes difficult to listen to in the parts concerning the idiocy and brutality of humans, this book communicates the wonder of many different encounters with our fellow earthlings and makes a compelling case for compassion in our relations with them - and each other.

Fascinating, powerful, heartbreaking and hopeful

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