A leading authority on dolphin intelligence shares scientific information about dolphin creativity, emotions, and communication abilities while advocating for stronger dolphin protection laws.
This scientific memoir by an aquarium researcher “illuminate[s] the world of the dolphin’s amazing intelligence and playfulness.” —Temple Grandin “One comes away from Reiss’s book agreeing that ‘dolphins are among the smartest creatures on the planet’ and that they merit not just our attention but our care and protection.” —The New York Times Dolphins are creative and self-aware, with distinct personalities and the ability to communicate with humans. They craft their own toys, use underwater keyboards, and live in complex societies throughout the seas. And yet, some nations continue to slaughter them indiscriminately. Diana Reiss is one of the world’s leading experts on dolphin intelligence. Her decades of research and interactions with dolphins have made her a strong advocate for their global protection. In The Dolphin in the Mirror, Reiss demonstrates just how smart dolphins really are, and makes a compelling case for why we must protect them. “Reiss, who served as an adviser on the Oscar-winning 2009 film ‘The Cove’ . . . writes passionately about the need to protect these sentient creatures.” —The Washington Post “Reiss fills the book with such intriguing tales and with the science behind them. . . . Reiss is passionate about her science, but she is passionate about her subjects as well.” —The Tampa Bay Times “Her enthusiasm is contagious.” —Publishers Weekly “Reiss has managed no small feat—synthesizing personal experience, descriptive material, and scientific fact. . . . No one reading this book could possibly remain untouched by the beauty and intelligence of these powerful mammals of the sea.” —Irene Pepperberg, author of Alex & Me
The Dolphin in the Mirror is a memoir by the world's leading dolphin and whale expert, revealing both the extraordinary richness of their intelligence, and the often fatal consequences of their interactions with humans. It is both a journey inside the minds of these amazing creatures and a plea that we treat them with the respect they are due.
“This powerful exploration of how we become human and how the soul endures is a song of beauty and sorrow, haunting and unforgettable.” —School Library Journal (starred review) A Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year An ALA Best Book for Young Adults A Book Links Best Book of the Year A New York Public Library Children’s Title for Reading and Sharing Mila becomes famous around the world when she is rescued from an unpopulated island off the coast of Florida. Years ago, Mila went missing from a boat crash, and she has been raised by dolphins from the age of four. Researchers teach Mila language and music. But she also learns about rules and expectations, about locked doors and broken promises, disappointment and betrayal. The more Mila finds out about what it means to be human, the more she longs for her home in the ocean . . . “As moving as a sonnet, as eloquently structured as a bell curve, this book poignantly explores the most profound of themes—what it means to be human . . . All together, a frequently dazzling novel.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review) “Her mind and spirit shaped by the dolphins who raised her, a feral child views herself and her human captors from a decidedly unusual angle in this poignant story . . . A probing look at what makes us human, with an unforgettable protagonist.” —Kirkus Reviews “Mila’s rich inner voice makes her a lovely, lyrical character.” —VOYA Magazine
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Inspired by a profound experience swimming with wild dolphins off the coast of Maui, the bestselling author of The Wave set out on a quest to learn everything she could about dolphins—the other intelligent life on the planet. “Part science, part memoir, part impassioned plea for change.” —People Susan Casey’s journey takes her from a community in Hawaii known as “Dolphinville,” where the animals are seen as the key to spiritual enlightenment, to the dark side of the human-cetacean relationship at marine parks and dolphin-hunting grounds in Japan and the Solomon Islands, to the island of Crete, where the Minoan civilization lived in harmony with dolphins, providing a millennia-old example of a more enlightened coexistence with the natural world. Along the way, Casey recounts the history of dolphin research and introduces us to the leading marine scientists and activists who have made it their life’s work to increase humans’ understanding and appreciation of the wonder of dolphins.
Dr. Denise Herzing began her research with a pod of spotted dolphins in the 1980s. Now, almost three decades later, she has forged strong ties with many of these individuals, has witnessed and recorded them feeding, playing, fighting, mating, giving birth and communicating. Dolphin Diaries is an account of Herzing's research and her surprising findings on wild dolphin behavior, interaction, and communication. Readers will be drawn into the highs and lows—the births and deaths, the discovery of unique and personalized behaviors, the threats dolphins face from environmental changes, and the many funny and wonderful encounters Denise painstakingly documented over many years. This is the perfect book for anyone who loves these incredibly versatile and intelligent creatures and wants to find out more than the dolphin show at the zoo can offer. Herzing is a true pioneer in her field and deserves a place in the pantheon of naturalists and scientists next to Dian Fossey and Jane Goodall.
Describes a model for understanding canine behavior based on the premise that dog and owner form a group mind and that when a dog behaves in a certain manner it is reacting to the emotions the owner is feeling.
From the cup of coffee that jumpstarts the day to dangerously addictive drugs, the recreational use of plants with psychoactive properties has a long history among humans. But, as with many things, it turns out that other animals got there first. From parrots to primates, consuming medicinal chemicals is an instinctive behavior that helps countless organisms fight infection and treat disease. But the similarities don't end there: Like us, many creatures also consume substances that have no apparent benefit . . . except for inducing intoxication. In fact, animals have been using drugs for recreational purposes since prehistoric times. We may even have animals to thank for the idea—legend says that coffee was discovered by observing the behavior of goats that had eaten it. In his previous book, Strange Survivors, author and biologist Oné R. Pagán introduced readers to some of the truly bizarre strategies animals use to survive in the cutthroat world of natural selection. Now, in Drunk Flies and Stoned Dolphins, he sheds light on the surprising cravings they indulge when it's time to unwind. In this book, you'll get an eye-opening glimpse into the mind-altering behavior of the non-human members of the animal kingdom, spanning insects to elephants—including the dolphin species that apparently likes to pass around an intoxicating pufferfish as if they were sharing a joint. Combining fascinating science with humor and enthusiasm, Pagán's latest is full of the kind of unforgettable stories and odd facts that you'll find yourself repeating to everyone you meet. From fruit fly happy hour to the evolutionary reasons behind nature's drugs, Drunk Flies and Stoned Dolphins takes you on a trip through the colorful world of animal intoxication—and along the way, explores what this science reveals about the surprising connections between all the world's creatures.
CWA Gold and Steel Dagger-winner Mick Herron's short fiction, collected for the first time. Mick Herron, author of the Slough House novels, is on his way to becoming one of the most critically acclaimed and culturally important crime fiction writers of the twenty-first century. He has been awarded both the Gold and Steel Daggers by the Crime Writers’ Association and has been called “the John Le Carré of the future” (BBC). But Mick Herron does more than “just” write flawlessly suspenseful spy thrillers. He is a craftist of the highest order, irrepressibly versatile in form (novels, novellas, short fiction) and mood (witty, taut, spooky, laugh-out-loud funny), whose “efficient, darkly witty, tipped-with-imagery sentences . . . feel purpose-built to perforate [our] private daze of illiteracy” (The Atlantic). Now, for the first time, Herron’s short fiction has been collected into one volume. In Dolphin Junction, devoted fans and future converts alike will find much to amuse, delight, and terrify them. Five standalone nerve-rackingly thrilling crime fiction stories are complemented by four mystery stories featuring the Oxford wife-and-husband detective team of shrewd Zoë Boehm and hapless Joe Silvermann. The collection also includes a peek into the past of Jackson Lamb, irascible top agent at Slough House.