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Dec 17, 2009

Ethan rated it:

so disappointing. i had such high hopes. but all every page was like, "maybe animals have feelings. but we're not sure yet. i mean, cats seem to. but who knows? elephants look like they're crying sometimes. are they really? we may never find out."

trash.

1 comment like (11 people liked it)

Apr 29, 2008

Colin rated it:

While I agree with the principles in this book, that's all I agree with. There are several reasons.

First and most obvious to many who read it: he has a huge amount of anger towards scientists. I can appreciate this to a large extent, animals have been and are still used in experiments which are horrible. His anger has transcended the normal boundaries to become fanatical. The problem with this is twofold. On the one hand he often makes generalizations which are not always fair ( More...

1 comment like (6 people liked it)

Nov 04, 2011

Carrie rated it:

I was hoping this would be more like "Animals in Translation: Using the Mysteries of Autism to Decode Animal Behavior," with lots of interesting facts backed up with evidence. Instead, it reads like an essay arguing that ethologists are all wrong because they don't ascribe animals' actions to emotional causes. Granted, I didn't read the whole book, but the part I did read repeated itself over and over. I felt like I was being beaten by a dead, unhappy horse. More...

4 comments like (3 people liked it)

Aug 27, 2011

Tippy rated it:

Repetitive. No science. Reads something like this-scientists suck because I think my pets have feelings and they really do because I can just tell and how can anyone say they don't? Also, other people think their pets have feelings. So there. Flawless argument. Horribly misinterprets or over interprets behaviors and actions. Everything right up to the looks dogs give and of course, from a look you can read their mind because it's not possible they could be thinking anything other than the More...

2 comments like (2 people liked it)

Apr 23, 2009

Danna rated it:

[Readers note: the author is a professor of Sanskrit and a trained Freudian analyst who has a passion for animals and exploring our relationships to animals from a philosophical point of view. He is not a practicing biologist, animal behaviorist, or any other -ist within the zoological/anthropological realm. I believe his intent is to help make this area of science more compelling, interesting, and accessible to the lay public. Best to read it with that understanding in mind.]

I fe More...

1 comment like (5 people liked it)

Jan 04, 2012

Nina rated it:

This book was frustrating to read. It was anecdote after anecdote and even though I agree with the author that animals do have emotions, I found myself disagreeing with his arguments. He likes to present a story of an animal behaving in such a way as to convince us that it is having some sort of emotional experience, of which I have no doubt. The problem is that he is pulling emotions out of his butt and saying "It could be this...or this... or this..." This is why science has little t More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 21, 2007

Tracey rated it:

Masson explores "the sin of anthropomorphism" - attributing emotions (& behaviour in response to emotions) to animals, both in terms of his own observations and those of biologists and animal trainers & researchers, all the way back to Charles Darwin. He starts with a general discussion of the topic, then spends a chapter on one of about a dozen different emotional states; including fear, anger, love, joy and compassion.

He's definitely writing with an agenda; he's a vegetar More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Nov 22, 2011

Anna rated it:

Makes some good points, using lots of real-life examples, without the mistake of making animals out to be flower-children. Puts into words the annoying, infuriationg, ridiculous canon in the scientific realm that Animals Can't Have Emotions ("they've just evolved to act as if they do"?!) and it is anthropomorphic to say they do--comparing this to the not-so-long-ago scientific stand that animals (and, by the way, human infants!) can't feel pain as we do and it is anthropomorphic and More...

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Mar 10, 2011

Caroline rated it:

If you’ve ever looked for connections between the emotional lives of humans and animals, look no further than Jeffery Masson and Susan McCarthy’s When Elephants Weep. This insightful and delightful read gives an inside look to the emotional lives, experiences, and actions of species throughout the animal kingdom. From dancing squirrels to bashful gorillas to spiteful killer whales, Masson and coauthor Susan McCarthy discuss enlightening anecdotes and illuminating insights that offer powerfu More...

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Jul 06, 2010

Andrew rated it:

- A mother giraffe fends off a lion for an hour to defend her child.
- A male chimpanzee dies shortly after his mother.
- Koko the gorilla cares for a “pet” kitten she names “All Ball.”
- A male falcon displays uncharacteristic behavior, including sounds that sound like cries of anguish, when his mate is killed.
- A gorilla who is given orange juice as a treat, gives it instead one day to a researcher who complains of a stomach ache. When she returns ten days later, the goril More...

3 comments like (3 people liked it)

Jul 17, 2009

Dinah rated it:

This book has a fatal flaw, which I believe is the crux of its argument and usefulness: In the discussion of whether or not animals can be said to have feelings, Masson is forced to wrestle with the definition of emotion, its origin and symptoms and causes and ontology. Is emotion mutually exclusive to evolutionary function, as one would come to believe from the tone of scientific discourse? If a mother protects her cubs, can we assume she feels love for them? Why would we possibly assume otherw More...

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Jan 27, 2008

Marley rated it:

I have a feeling I'm not going to finish this one. The writing is dense and not that accessible... but maybe if I skip to the interesting anecdotal stuff about animal emotions? It starts with a justification of the book, the idea that animals have emotions that are at least somewhat comparable to human emotions and that this deserves study. But that goes on for too long.

Interesting anecdotes about animals; I enjoyed it.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 28, 2011

Lawrence rated it:

I am a lion hungry for a piece of meat, but I can't seem to get it across to Mr. Masson. I stood up on my hind legs and mewed and whined and begged, but no nice red meat. All of which is to say that I got to about page 55 and said to myself that this book was not worth the investment in time and energy.

The book is actually a polemic fueled by Mr. Masson's dislike about something or other in the scientific community and inflated by his speculations and rhetorical questions in the fo More...

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Oct 08, 2007

Natasha rated it:

I wanted to like this more than I did. It has some interesting tidbits and case studies, but the author is kind of all over the place and contradicts himself a lot. I believe animals have emotions, but I didn't feel like he made his case as compelling as he could have. But it's an interesting read.

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jan 28, 2010

Marie rated it:

This could easily be a five star book, as I believe it can change the life ofmany people who do not give enough credit to animals. However in my case I was already in agreement with the fact that animals do have emotions and feel just as much as we do, so it was not a life changing book per say.
However this book is very intelligent. It's well written, very scientific in its approach, and while at times can be a bit snarky, is justifiably so. This is not the feel good "let's read stor More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

May 01, 2010

Carole rated it:

This is a re-read. I first read this book when it came out in 1995. I enjoyed it the second time as well. I don't agree with some of the reviewers of this book who say the author does not make his point. No, he does not scientifically prove that animals have emotions and that these emotions, rather than pure instinct, influence their behavior. I don't think he was trying to do that. I believe he was trying to get people to see animals as sentient beings who feel - and I think he succeeds at that More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 20, 2012

Cory rated it:

This was truly a beautiful book. It expresses a deep desire to see equality with man and humans. It takes a subjective yet scientific approach to describing the interactions of animals, as well as humans. The connections animals have to their own species and to conspecifics is evident in every interaction. They along with Humanity are striving to be understood and survive. It has given me a different perspective on nature, humanity, animals and the constant interaction between them all. It is im More...

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May 25, 2011

Jitske rated it:

I thought this book was extremely interesting and a good read that I would recommend to anyone interested in the animal kingdom. In "When Elephants Weep", the author (Jeffrey Moussaief Masson) and the co-author (Susan McCarthy) attempt to show the reader that animals, too, lead rich emotional lives. It is full of anecdotes and examples of research observations and striking animal behaviour around the world. It was a rather easy read, too, evidently written for a wide audience to get th More...

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Jan 11, 2011

Geri rated it:

I listened to the audiobook (cassettes) and the copyright date was 1995. Adult, nonfiction book. Marvelous information about animal behavior. Not a recent book, but still current. Many renowned animal behaviorists are mentioned in the book, as are many famous animals in their own right, such as Koko the gorilla, Alex, the African Grey Parrot, Washoe the chimpanzee, etc. I am very glad I read this. Was not a fast-moving book, but one to relish. Good for trip in the car, where you could gi More...

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Sep 13, 2010

Victoria rated it:

This book examines evidence of emotions in animals. Masson constantly plays to his audience - animal lovers, so though he uses a rather vast array of documentation and philosophies to argue both sides of the argument, the reader is constantly told to think of their own experience. And, as a dog owner, it is hard to imagine anyone saying that a dog isn't ecstatic when you come home, or say yes to a long walk, or is seemingly heartbroken when you won't throw the tennis ball for the hundredth time. More...

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Feb 28, 2010

Christian rated it:

I picked up this book expecting to find scientific evidence that animals are capable of demonstrating many of the same emotions humans do. What I got was a book that decided that because many dog and cat owners feel that their pets demonstrate emotion, therefore they do. Also, the author seemed mad at science and scientists that this kind of "evidence" hasn't been suitable for them in the past and spends a good portion of the book complaining about them.

Great book if you More...

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Mar 23, 2009

April rated it:

While I agree with the author's position that many animals have emotional depth that far exceeds our human understanding or expectations, I don't think this book makes that point as effectively as it could. It's far too emotional, and based more in anecdotal evidence and various animal lovers' opinions than science. I believe there's enough actual science out there to support the author's position, so I was disappointed to find so little of it in this book.

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Feb 03, 2011

Chris rated it:

I read this piecemeal, studies and anecdotes which confirm what most of us know - that animals suffer and care and are disappointed, curious, feeling, mourning fellow creatures.
The research is extensive, and the characters in the forms of buffalo, parrot, gorilla, etc. pull at heartstrings, exhibiting their joy, sorrow, remorse, ad infinitum. My husband and I raised wild animals to be returned to the wild, and this read affirms my own experience.

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Jan 10, 2011

Sandra rated it:

This nonfiction book takes a good look at animals to bolster the conclusion that animals do indeed feel emotions, many of which are very like human emotions. With copious, interesting examples from animals studied in the wild and also in captivity, the book traces one emotion after another, even discussing such complex concepts as aesthetics in animals. Though the book deals with many abstracts, the discussions and examples make it a fascinating read.

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Dec 11, 2010

Joanne rated it:

Never again will you think about animals and animal society in the same way. Moussaieff Masson's interdisciplinary approach gives readers fascinating insights into what we assume and what we actually know about animal societies. Human arrogance the high-jacking of intellectual superiority are put in question by the examples and case studies presented in this lovely and moving book. Another of my favourites that I wish everyone could read.

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Jan 09, 2009

Ashley rated it:

Anyone who has owned a pet knows that animals have feelings, maybe not like we do, but fear, love, respect, loneliness, ect. This book argues that not only do animals have feelings comparable to human feelings, but that they should be included and considered in the scientific study of animals. Full of short stories and examples as proof of animal feelings, they are fun to read, if you can put aside the political spin.

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Nov 21, 2007

Christina Stind rated it:

The argument in this book is that because animals have feelings, we ought to treat them better.
The argumentation takes form as various case stories which the author then analyzes and shows can be explained better if you take animal emotions into account than if you leave them out. To a certain extent, the author is successful in presenting this argument.
The book basically reads as a long emotional plea to other people to realize that animals are sentinent beings in their own right wi More...

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Jan 29, 2010

Gail rated it:

Once I got through the first couple of chapters where the author basically raves about how horrible humans are, then it gets really good! All the stories he has collected about various animals was so interesting and often amusing. I liked the rest of the book a lot, I would recommend it, just push your way past the first couple of chapters!

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Oct 31, 2008

Zoe rated it:

This book gives you a lot of insight into animals' emotional and social lives. It's organized by type of emotion (eg, anger, love, joy). Each chapter is made up of dozens of anecdotes of animals displaying that emotion, gathered from reports and interviews with tons of animal researchers. The book is a little slow to get into at first, because he takes a very long time at the start defending the whole notion of animals having emotions to begin with. This is meant to persuade all the skeptics, su More...

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Oct 03, 2009

Christine rated it:

The book presents the argument that animals of all types have feelings, emotions, feel pain and heartache and can feel and express love. For me personally, having been pleasantly owned by pets my whole life, this book was not a stretch in believability. It is an entertaining and well presented argument for the positive.

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