Hard science isn't the only important thing

books:


	• When Elephants Weep: The Emotional Lives of Animals Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson, Susan McCarthy Delta, 1996 - 320 pages average customer review:based on 66 reviews view larger image
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insightful and well researched

My interest in this book is in learning more about animal cognition, behavior, training, etc.

It was a good read. I finished it in just a few days. The stories were varied and colorful. Clearly the author did a lot of research in creating the book.

It is pretty well balanced in the sense you don't have to be an extreme animal rights person to appreciate it.

The only reason I couldn't give 5 starts is that it lacked a bottom line. There were all these wonderful stories about what animals did, but I went away wondering what conclusions to draw. Or at least end the book with some philosophical questions that keep me thinking?

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Everyone Should Read this Book

What a wonderful book! Although I am an admitted 'animal person' I think everyone would (and should) enjoy reading this book for a perspective on life on our planet.

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Hard science isn't the only important thing

This book explores the emotions of species of animals ranging from ants to whales. Numerous anecdotes are given, particularly involving primates, cetaceans, and African gray parrots. These are used to put forth discussions and considerations of the debate as to whether or not nonhuman animals have emotions, and to what extent they share emotional states and expressions with us. We are not told what we must believe; the authors make their arguments, but they are not entirely dogmatic. Instead, they present their case, give their examples, and beseech the reader to consider what they have offered up. Responsibility is placed in the hands of the reader; we are not spoonfed the answers.

Let me make something clear: this book was not written by scientists. If you're looking for hard scientific evidence for animal neurology and related fields, this isn't it. One author has a PhD in Sanskrit; the other has degrees in journalism and biology. (Of course, I have a B.A. in English, so perhaps according to some I'm unfit to judge the scientific integrity of a work in my mere layman's understanding.) However, I don't believe science has all the answers, and the authors point out numerous places where science has perhaps been quite blind. We are called not just to think, but to feel-a more complete way of observing and considering emotions themselves. After all, it is strict adherence to left-brained thinking that justifies everything from vivisection of unanesthetized animals to extermination of entire species.

What I consider important about this book is that it can get the average person to think about how we approach animals and their emotions, and reconsider the practice of anthropomorphization. It may make you angry, it may make you cry, or it may make you nod and say "Yes, I agree with this". But as long as you're thinking about your position on animals as emotional beings instead of just reacting with your usual routines, I think the authors have done their job.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

This national bestseller exploring the complex emotional lives of animals was hailed as "a masterpiece" by Elizabeth Marshall Thomas and as "marvelous" by Jane Goodall.

The popularity of When Elephants Weep has swept the nation, as author Jeffrey Masson appeared on Dateline NBC, Good Morning America, and was profiled in People for his ground-breaking and fascinating study. Not since Darwin's The Expression of Emotions in Man and Animals has a book so thoroughly and effectively explored the full range of emotions that exist throughout the animal kingdom.

From dancing squirrels to bashful gorillas to spiteful killer whales, Masson and coauthor Susan McCarthy bring forth fascinating anecdotes and illuminating insights that offer powerful proof of the existence of animal emotion. Chapters on love, joy, anger, fear, shame, compassion, and loneliness are framed by a provocative re-evaluation of how we treat animals, from hunting and eating them to scientific experimentation. Forming a complete and compelling picture of the inner lives of animals, When Elephants Weep assures that we will never look at animals in the same way again.

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