The co-op bookstore for avid readers
Book Cover for: Why Animals Talk: The New Science of Animal Communication, Arik Kershenbaum

Why Animals Talk: The New Science of Animal Communication

Arik Kershenbaum

Critic Reviews

Good

Based on 7 reviews on

BookMarks logo
Winner:ALA Notable Book -Nonfiction (2025)
"Animal communication doesn't need to resemble human language to be full of meaning and nuance. Arik Kershenbaum delivers an expert overview of the astonishing discoveries made in the last few decades" --Frans de Waal

From leading zoologist Arik Kershenbaum, a delightful and groundbreaking exploration of animal communication and its true meaning

Animal communication has forever seemed intelligible. We are surrounded by animals and the cacophony of sounds that they make--from the chirping of songbirds to the growls of lions on the savanna--but we have yet to fully understand why animals communicate the way they do. What are they saying? This is only part of the mystery. To go deeper, we must also ask, what is motivating them?

Why Animals Talk is an exhilarating journey through the untamed world of animal communication. Following his international bestseller, The Zoologist's Guide to the Galaxy, acclaimed zoologist Arik Kershenbaum draws on extensive original research to reveal how many of the animal kingdom's most seemingly confusing or untranslatable signals are in fact logical and consistent--and not that different from our own. His fascinating deep dive into this timeless subject overturns decades of conventional wisdom, inviting readers to experience for the first time communication through the minds of animals themselves.

From the majestic howls of wolves and the enchanting chatter of parrots to the melodic clicks of dolphins and the spirited grunts of chimpanzees, these often strange expressions are far from mere noise. In fact, they hold secrets that we are just beginning to decipher. It's one of the oldest mysteries that has haunted Homo sapiens for hundreds of thousands of years: Are animals talking just like us, or are we the only animals on the planet to have our own language?

Book Details

  • Publisher: Penguin Press
  • Publish Date: Aug 6th, 2024
  • Pages: 288
  • Language: English
  • Edition: undefined - undefined
  • Dimensions: 8.87in - 6.82in - 1.00in - 1.01lb
  • EAN: 9780593654934
  • Categories: Animals - GeneralLife Sciences - Zoology - General

More books to explore

Book Cover for: The Wasp That Brainwashed the Caterpillar: Evolution's Most Unbelievable Solutions to Life's Biggest Problems, Matt Simon
Book Cover for: The Inner Life of Animals: Love, Grief, and Compassion--Surprising Observations of a Hidden World, Peter Wohlleben
Book Cover for: Becoming Wild: How Animal Cultures Raise Families, Create Beauty, and Achieve Peace, Carl Safina
Book Cover for: Spying on Whales: The Past, Present, and Future of Earth's Most Awesome Creatures, Nick Pyenson
Book Cover for: Aelian's on the Nature of Animals, Gregory McNamee
Book Cover for: Abalone: The Remarkable History and Uncertain Future of California's Iconic Shellfish, Ann Vileisis
Book Cover for: An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us, Ed Yong
Book Cover for: Sentient: How Animals Illuminate the Wonder of Our Human Senses, Jackie Higgins
Book Cover for: The Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration Into the Wonder of Consciousness, Sy Montgomery
Book Cover for: Metazoa: Animal Life and the Birth of the Mind, Peter Godfrey-Smith
Book Cover for: Genesis: The Deep Origin of Societies, Edward O. Wilson
Book Cover for: Kingdom of Play: What Ball-Bouncing Octopuses, Belly-Flopping Monkeys, and Mud-Sliding Elephants Reveal about Life Itself, David Toomey
Book Cover for: Mom Genes: Inside the New Science of Our Ancient Maternal Instinct, Abigail Tucker
Book Cover for: The Creative Lives of Animals, Carol Gigliotti
Book Cover for: Wahb: The Biography of a Grizzly, Ernest Thompson Seton

About the Author

Dr. Arik Kershenbaum is a zoologist, college lecturer and fellow at Girton College, University of Cambridge. He has done extensive fieldwork on animal communication: following wolves around Yellowstone National Park and the forests of central Wisconsin to uncover the meaning of their different kinds of howls, as well as decoding the whistles of dolphins among the coral reefs of the Red Sea, the songs of gibbons in the jungles of Vietnam and the songs of hyraxes in the mountains of the Galilee. He holds a PhD from the University of Haifa and a higher doctorate from the University of Cambridge.

More books by Arik Kershenbaum

Book Cover for: The Zoologist's Guide to the Galaxy: What Animals on Earth Reveal about Aliens--And Ourselves, Arik Kershenbaum

Critics’ reviews