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Animals in Translation: Using the Mysteries of Autism to Decode Animal Behavior by Temple Grandin
hufflepuffbiologybuff's review against another edition
5.0
A prospective and and insightful read. Lines up with much of what I read in other books but learned a lot from this book.
Grandin makes everything interesting and understandable.
Grandin makes everything interesting and understandable.
margyly's review against another edition
3.0
Interesting, though weird, both about autistic people and animals.
lisaortiz1221's review against another edition
4.0
every human being who has/will come in contact with animals should read this book. grandin takes complex concepts such as human and animal psychology, physiology and neurology and translates them into well constructed anecdotes. at times funny, and at times eye opening, this book is the one guidebook i would recommend to living peacefully with animals.
if you've ever wondered why animals behave the way they do, or if you've ever wanted to consider how much animals can tell us about ourselves, run to the bookstore now and get this book!
if you've ever wondered why animals behave the way they do, or if you've ever wanted to consider how much animals can tell us about ourselves, run to the bookstore now and get this book!
palmsey's review against another edition
5.0
Loved it - a fascinating story every few pages. I have lots of pages dog-eared for future reference.
indiana_appleseed's review against another edition
3.0
I really enjoyed this book. I thought it was going to be all about dogs but it was mostly about cows and horses. But there were really interesting facts and stories about bird communication. And it really makes you think about the special type of skills and intelligence that your family animals have that go untapped.
kitten94509's review against another edition
challenging
informative
slow-paced
4.0
I read this book as recommended on how animals experience pain and suffering, as my cat is in treatment for cancer. This book was interesting but it took me some time to read the entire thing. In retrospect, it would have been good for me to read the recommended chapter first and then the rest of the book.
rapid's review against another edition
informative
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
4.5
Dr. Grandin is famous for her work both in autism advocacy and farm animal management (her most well known invention being the “squeeze machine”).
As I am not an expert in either, I cannot speak to the veracity of everything in this book. It’s approaching the 20th anniversary of its publishing, and no doubt some things have changed.
But, speaking from the experience of one reading it—Dr. Grandin offers stunning insights into the multitude of ways it is possible to perceive a world we all share. Her understanding of animals feels meticulously constructed from the ground off, skillfully evading easy heuristics like anthromorphizing or subscribing lower intelligence and irrationality to beings that act differently than we expect them to.
To me, the emotional core of Animals in Translation is the necessity of treating all beings with respect. Speaking about animals from the perspective of an autistic person, Grandin speaks about two populations that have historically been subject to deep misunderstanding and oppression. Through her insights, she shows ways that we can continue to respect their autonomy, and relate to difference with dignity.
As I am not an expert in either, I cannot speak to the veracity of everything in this book. It’s approaching the 20th anniversary of its publishing, and no doubt some things have changed.
But, speaking from the experience of one reading it—Dr. Grandin offers stunning insights into the multitude of ways it is possible to perceive a world we all share. Her understanding of animals feels meticulously constructed from the ground off, skillfully evading easy heuristics like anthromorphizing or subscribing lower intelligence and irrationality to beings that act differently than we expect them to.
To me, the emotional core of Animals in Translation is the necessity of treating all beings with respect. Speaking about animals from the perspective of an autistic person, Grandin speaks about two populations that have historically been subject to deep misunderstanding and oppression. Through her insights, she shows ways that we can continue to respect their autonomy, and relate to difference with dignity.
library_ann's review against another edition
3.0
I was expecting more autism and less animals, but I learned some things about animals that I never knew. Also some intriguing references to studies with animals, like research on prairie dog language that has revealed the critters use nouns, verbs, and adjectives! This is the drawback of having the audiobook but not the real text: very difficult to track these interesting tidbits for future reading.