The Smile of a Dolphin: Remarkable Accounts of Animal Emotions

Amazon.com

Do animals experience sorrow? Do they know joy? Scientists have long been divided on the issue. Many, informed by the likes of Rene Descartes, who viewed animals as automata, and B.F. Skinner, who reduced the animal mind to a system of stimulus and response, say no. Others, including Charles Darwin, reply in the affirmative, and this book is a resounding endorsement of their position.

Editor Marc Bekoff, a biologist at the University of Colorado, assembles anecdotal memoirs by some 50 scientists touching on such matters as love, fear, anger, joy, grief, pride, and shame. His contributors include Alexander Skutch, Frans de Waal, Jane Goodall, Elizabeth Marshall Thomas, and Michael W. Fox; their subjects number animals from nearly every continent and ecosystem. The memoirs are highly instructive; we learn from them, for instance, that dolphins lack the muscles to smile, that the pig's squeal is a highly successful defensive mechanism, and that elephants are subject to episodes of depression. More substantially, the essays, taken as a whole, show that the emotional life of animals is not only rich, but also as various (and unpredictable) as that of humans; after reading them, you'll likely not look at chimps or hyenas--or dolphins, for that matter--with quite the same eyes.

Although most animal lovers won't need to be convinced of the reality of animal emotions, this book provides plenty of ammunition for anti-Cartesian debates. And apart from all that, it's a lot of fun. --Gregory McNamee

Customer Reviews:

non-fiction that reads as easily as fiction.......2004-09-10

This book is a great collection of one- to two-page essays on animal behavior. The authors share their personal stories with animals that they studied throughout their science careers. Do animals show love, fear, anger, joy, or grief? The stories convince us that they do. A dolphin mother who lost her calf refuses food and leaves her group to grieve; a young dolphin invents a game and plays it for hours with her mother; a sea lion tosses a duck decoy in frustration at a trainer when it failed a task; a dolphin ducks a floating gull under water just for the fun of it. The book also covers land animals and birds, and each story is accompanied by wonderful photographs.

an opening into a new world.......2003-07-16

As a vegetarian, I have felt especially vindicated by evidence of animals' emotions. If an elephant can feel grief, a chimp baby can carry around a stick "doll," and wolves can bond to one another, then of course they can also feel pain. However, I believe that absolutely anyone could and should enjoy this charming book edited by Marc Bekoff. It is separated into sections, and each chapter is then only a few pages long, so it is easy to read cover to cover, or simply to flip through. I also think that this book would be a great way for children to learn respect for their fellow earth-dwellers. Many readers will be surprised by these anecdotes... I highly recommend (although the title is a strange choice, since a big "grin" on a dolphin can indicate aggression).

Outstanding Collection on Animal Emotions!.......2001-06-29

Marc Bekoff has brought together an outstanding collection of experts to share their experience with the broad and deep range of animal emotions. To me it shows that animals are more open and honest with their emotions than humans. The pictures alone can help us grow even more. This book brings Darwin's "The Expression of Emotions in Man and Animal" and The Animal Welfare Institute's "Animal Expressions" to a whole new audience. This book will please those humans who already enjoy animal emotions and will help those who need a push to grow.

Average customer rating:
Grasses of southern Africa: An identification manual with keys, descriptions, distributions, classification, and automated identification and information ... van die botaniese opname van Suid-Afrika)

Manufacturer: National Botanic Gardens, Botanical Research Institute
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

General | Plants | Biological Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books
General | Botany | Biological Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0620148462

Book Description

Baedeker China

Baedeker -- the guides to travel with.

Now in fully revised editions, Baedeker guides offer today's visitor a tremendous depth and reliability of information

Completely updated and revisedCompact guide and foldout map in a clear plastic walletHundreds of full-color photos throughoutDetailed maps and floorplansA-to-Z listings of sights or towns with in-depth reviews and detailed descriptions.Baedeker's original star-rating system.Solid background coverage highlighting history, culture, the economy, the people, and moreUseful practical information, facts and figures, hotel and restaurant listings, and language glossaries.

Customer Reviews:

A must to find cities, general travel info & the Map ........2001-04-13

... when I got to the Baedecker and found the map code, things became quite clear.

To buy a map alone costs about $9. The map is integrated and keyed into the text. I was able to read about quaint and large cities, then identify the locations and features on the map. The narrative was put in better perspective. The book covers a lot of topics and does so in an efficient manner. I looked at National Geographic and found this to be a travel guide of featured cities. I looked at others and found inaccuracies as well as exclusion of some smaller but growing communities. Yes, perhaps the text can be expanded on in some sections: The authors can add 100 more pages. However, I found Baedecker to be one of the four "MUSTS" in my collection, with Learning How to Live in China on top. You may not learn all about the prices of the special dishes such as Peking Duck. But, you will find this very useful and also handy with its smaller yet highly readable size. I highly recommend this book and feel it should gain higher prominence on the Amazon list. I won't go to China and settle there without Baedecker. Preview it in a bookstore and I feel confident many will come to the same conclusion...

Average customer rating:
Baedeker's Hong Kong
Baedeker Guides
Manufacturer: Baedeker
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Asia | Travel | Subjects | Books
Hong Kong | Asia | Travel | Subjects | Books
Macau | Asia | Travel | Subjects | Books
General | China | Asia | Travel | Subjects | Books
Southeast | Asia | Travel | Subjects | Books
Guidebooks | Reference & Tips | Travel | Subjects | Books
Baedeker | Guidebook Series | Travel | Subjects | Books
General | Travel | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 074951986X
Release Date: 1999-03-30

Book Description

Baedeker Hong Kong

Baedeker -- the guides to travel with.

Now in fully revised editions, Baedeker guides offer today's visitor a tremendous depth and reliability of information

Average customer rating:

Baedeker's Hong Kong (AA Baedeker's S.)

Manufacturer: AA Baedeker's
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Asia | Travel | Subjects | Books

Hong Kong | Asia | Travel | Subjects | Books

Guidebooks | Reference & Tips | Travel | Subjects | Books

Baedeker | Guidebook Series | Travel | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0749512393

Average customer rating:

Baedeker's Hong Kong (AA Baedeker's)

Manufacturer: AA Baedeker's
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Asia | Travel | Subjects | Books

Hong Kong | Asia | Travel | Subjects | Books

Guidebooks | Reference & Tips | Travel | Subjects | Books

Baedeker | Guidebook Series | Travel | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0749505915

Average customer rating:

Baedeker's Hong Kong (AA/Baedeker)

Manufacturer: Salem House Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Hong Kong | Asia | Travel | Subjects | Books

Guidebooks | Reference & Tips | Travel | Subjects | Books

Baedeker | Guidebook Series | Travel | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0861452135

AA Baedeker's China (AA Baedeker's Guides)

Average customer rating:

AA Baedeker's China (AA Baedeker's Guides)

Manufacturer: AA Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Asia | Travel | Subjects | Books

Guidebooks | Reference & Tips | Travel | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0749513977

Average customer rating:

Baedeker China
Baedeker
Manufacturer: Baedekers Guides
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000O8T0J0

Customer Reviews:

The Making of a Knight: How Sir James Earned His Armor.......2007-04-03

This is a cool book!

Excellent and painless for parents.......2005-02-26

My son, nearing three, adores this book and has had it read aloud every night for weeks. The language is direct and uncomplicated without being condescending or dumbed down; the book is packed with interesting facts that are made easily palatable by the storyline of James' progress toward knighthood. Pictures, while painterly, are sufficiently realistic to be informative. Highly recommended for your young knight in the making. If only there were more of this type of book available.

Excellent book for young children.......2003-03-17

I bought this book because my son (James) is very interested in the Middle Ages, King Arthur, etc. Since he is 7 years old and the book begins when Sir James is 7 years old, he really enjoyed it. The details on weapons, armor, etc. added a great touch and were not only interesting, but educational. The book contains some vocabulary which required explanation, but in general he was fascinated. The illustrations are excellent and we read a few pages at a time each night so we could discuss them in detail. I hope Mr. O'Brien writes more about the adventures of Sir James.

Average customer rating:

People Making History: Book 2
Peter Garlake , and Andre Proctor
Manufacturer: East African Educational Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | History & Historical Fiction | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

General | Africa | History | Subjects | Books

General | World | History | Subjects | Books

General | Education | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0908300344

Book Description

"Contains an entirely new chapter on U.S., EEC, and Japanese regulatory matters, and topical information on combination equipment, contract testing labs, and Internet sites."

Book Description

Applying Generalized Linear Models describes how generalized linear modelling procedures can be used for statistical modelling in many different fields, without becoming lost in problems of statistical inference. Many students, even in relatively advanced statistics courses, do not have an overview whereby they can see that the three areas - linear normal, categorical, and survival models - have much in common. The author shows the unity of many of the commonly used models and provides the reader with a taste of many different areas, such as survival models, time series, and spatial analysis. This book should appeal to applied statisticians and to scientists with a basic grounding in modern statistics. With the many exercises included at the ends of chapters, it will be an excellent text for teaching the fundamental uses of statistical modelling. The reader is assumed to have knowledge of basic statistical principles, whether from a Bayesian, frequentist, or direct likelihood point of view, and should be familiar at least with the analysis of the simpler normal linear models, regression and ANOVA. The author is professor in the biostatistics department at Limburgs University, Diepenbeek, in the social science department at the University of Liège, and in medical statistics at DeMontfort University, Leicester. He is the author of nine other books.

Customer Reviews:

provides examples of the diverse applications of GLIM.......2000-08-01

Since the work of Nelder and Wedderburn in 1972 it has become computationally feasible to unify normal linear models, categorical models and survival models through the use of a link function in the generalized linear model construct. However implementation has only slowly come about but the techniques are now very popular. Today various software packages are available to implement the methods. It is also the subject of much current research particularly in the medical field. Lindsey provides a clear presentation with many recent applications. The required level of mathematics is intermediate to advanced. Some basic knowledge of statistical methods and inference is assumed.

Another fine applied book with emphasis on computation through GENSTAT is "Statistical Modelling using GENSTAT" by McConway et al. ...

Book Description

Introducing Camus portrays a man who was not only in the tradition of the great French humanists, but an important Resistance fighter during World War II, and also a great sensualist who created a personal and literary myth out of sun, sea, sex, football, and theatre -- his response to the absurdity of life.

Customer Reviews:

Great value in money, time and effort.......2005-03-30

I wish I had picked up this book before I plodded through a THICK, renowed biography of Camus.

Considering I wasn't writing a thesis on Camus, and was only interested in learning about the man for my own knowledge, "Introducing Camus" filled my needs very well.

The book is set up like a comic book, with the odd "see notes below" parts, and I was able to read it in about 1.5 hours. With remarkable clarity, the book distilled Camus' essential philosophies and much of the important points in his life. But make no mistake; this book is not some superficial glamourization about Camus. I would say that a person reading the thick biography of Camus vs. the person reading "Introducing Camus" would come away with basically the same points. Isn't that amazing? (Now I'm starting to think that the thick book was filled with WAAAAY too much filler...how very un-Camus-esque).

Not only is "Introducing Camus" factually and philosophically sound, it is also engaging and gives great background and point-of-reference when reading Camus' actual works. For example, now that I know what was going on in Camus' life when he wrote "The Plague," I can read it with more insight. And now, I'm excited to read more of Camus' works (imagine if you gave this book to your high school or college kid!)

Overall, great primer for Camus. Start with this first, then read his books, and then maybe start reading those massive biographies.

The Man Behind the Novels.......2002-06-05

Originally titled "Camus for Beginners", this concise biography combines personal information, short excerpts, and vivid cartoons to illuminate the man behind the modern literary myth.

Although I had read The Fall, The Plague, The Stranger, and a few collections of essays a decade earlier, I had only a vague memory of Camus' actual life and conflicts. This fine book, which I read in less than two hours, remains a solid primer. Both longtime admirers of Camus and undergraduate students forced to read his celebrated novels should find this brief work a valuable investment of time.

It's also worth noting that cartoons are often read by adults in Europe. The format provides readers with a superficial, yet accessible and non-threathening, way to enter into academic and philosophical discussions. College and high school teachers of French, literature, and philosophy would benefit from adding this book to their students while assigning any novel by Camus.

Average customer rating:
Introducing Camus
David Zane and Korkos, Alain Mairowitz
Manufacturer: Icon Books Uk
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000K8W2SU

Average customer rating:

Interesting But Not Compelling

A short subjective Summary

Introducing the Existentialists: Imaginary Interviews With Sartre, Heidegger and Camus
Robert C. Solomon
Manufacturer: Hackett Pub Co Inc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Existentialism | Movements | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
General | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
Criticism | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Existentialism

Introducing the German Idealists (Philosophical Dialogue Series)

From Rationalism to Existentialism

The Myth of Sisyphus: And Other Essays

The Stranger

ASIN: 0915144476

Customer Reviews:

Interesting But Not Compelling.......2004-06-08

'Introducing the Existentialists' is an interesting book, but my all-time favourite group is STILL the Beach Boys.

A short subjective Summary.......2004-04-21

In the short imaginary interviews conducted by Solomon in Introducing The Existentialists, I quickly discovered that Existentialism is a far more profound and in-depth philosophy then I had first interpreted it to be. To me, Existentialism has been the baseless ness of the universe, the idea to destroy the traditional patterns of beliefs and methods and to replace them with a more universal set of categorical imperatives (as Immanuel Kant would say). However, after briefly reading the earlier mentioned book, I soon discovered I was incredibly mistaken. Not only did the three philosophers (Sartre, Heidegger, and Camus) seem incompatible in many aspects of their existential perspectives, two of them even broke away from each other due to their differences in their own philosophy (Sartre & Camus). This furthered my doubt and reliability of my earlier definition of existentialism even more so, almost to the point that it felt like I have been lied to all my life about this philosophy from textbooks and history teachers in my High School. Nevertheless I discouraged the simple concept of quitting and continued to plunge into Solomon's imaginary world.
Amongst all of the philosophers, it seemed one topic held the same power and influence on the human mind. That was the topic of death wherein after one is dead one no longer exists except in the written articles left behind in the material world (Sartre). Camus seems to adopt Heidegger's philosophy concerning death, which is that death is undeniably going to occur, but it is not until one's mortality is actually at risk that one becomes more aware and petrified of the outcome of death. I found this idea the simplest to comprehend and agreed to it automatically. Another topic the philosophers seem to hit similar cords on seemed to dissipate due to terminology and mere personality complexities. This is the topic concerning the human being's ability of just `being' and the actual actions the human being takes.
In accordance to Sartre, the human being's actions are always ruled by natural causes and the actually `free will' we believe in is just a mere idea of subjectivity. For instance, if one is going to be a coward, he will always be a coward and it does not matter if he breaks those bonds of cowardice or not. Heidegger seems to go for a more pessimistic ideal of consciousness (almost everything seems pointless or wasted to him), which consists of the fact one is never really conscious of anything and is just simply in the world. He supports this argument with the entity of Daesin and being, which seemed to cause electric shocks of incomprehension to rack my mind. In fact, I was so confused with Heidegger's beliefs that I soon began to realize it means nothing at all even if I did understand him (his indifference and impersonal way of thinking portrayed a concept below the human being way of feeling). Finally I came to Camus, who relieved my past mental tensions with his good humor and simple way of explaining things.
Like Sartre, Camus seems to focus on the idea that actual free will is just a matter of subjectivity. However, instead of being indifferent to his ideals like Sartre seemed to be, he personalized his arguments with the character Meursault in his novel, The Stranger. Meursault is a simple man who falls from innocence to self-destruction due to his death. The idea seems simple enough, but I, for one, seem to have lost my innocence when I entered Elementary school. Thus, the novel itself seemed like a romance written by Hemingway. However, I quickly denounced this previous thought when Camus and Solomon speak of how Meursault does not love his girlfriend (not that he is an evil man, but what would be the purpose of love; better yet, why would he love anything when that would be absurd because it would be meaningless). Although Camus portrays Meursault as a character who understands that most, if not all, of his actions are meaningless because they will inevitably lead to nothing particular that has a point, Meursault himself seems like a much better projection of the existentialist theory than the depressing and monotone voice of Heidegger. In conclusion, I found Camus much more compatible to my adolescent methods of thinking as opposed to Sartre and Heidegger.
All of these philosophers seem to have placed my mind in a paradox unknown to me before. I now remember during my pre-teen years I used to think like Meursault (or perhaps I should say Camus) in the sense what is the point of doing anything? Not that I had evil intentions for my fellow student, teacher, relatives, whatever, but it just seemed ridiculously pointless since I was inevitably going to pass away from this physical realm (hopefully into a better afterlife than Sartre's). I also understood the possibility that there was no Hell or Heaven, which would make my afterlife a real after-life, hence nothing is happening afterwards. If it's just game over when you're playing the game of life, then why do anything at all. What's the necessity of action? It is interesting to relive these ideas, but hopefully, considering my current relationships and situation, I will not completely embrace this philosophy again.

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