The Inner Life of Animals: Love, Grief, and Compassion--Surprising Observations of a Hidden World

This book is in perfect condition!

The novelty of the Hidden Life of Trees, Peter Wohlleben's last book, was the author's ability to combine scientific discoveries with personal insight and anecdote to describe how truly animate trees actually are. For example, Wohlleben shows how trees communicate, aid their offspring and even display acts of altruism.In the Youtube era, the fear is that a book on the inner Life of animals would be something akin to the cute cat videos that deluge our Facebook newsfeeds. But Mr. Wohlleben does not disappoint. He again writes prose that is one of the best examples of popular science in the twenty-first century. While always hewing to a necessary humility about the limits of our scientific knowledge of animals, Wohlleben weaves the best of scientific findings with personal anecdotes of the animals in his forest which illustrate and develop what otherwise could be cold and esoteric research.We are story-telling creatures after all and Wohlleben has discovered a formula for writing scientific books that are both popular and informative. Briefly, that formula is to write with sincerity about a subject one obviously deeply cares about and mix personal encounters with up to date scientific findings. Mr. Wohlleben says he could have written several more books with all the ideas he has about nature. I only hope this proves to be true.The one point which some readers may disagree with is the overall philosophical worldview of the author. Both in the Hidden Life of Trees and the Inner Life of Animals, Wohllenben vigorously attacks both the modern notion of flora and fauna as natural resources for the use of humanity as well as the Biblical notion of humankind as the pinnacle of creation.Instead, he argues for a view in which mankind is one species among many-- a species which is increasingly wreaking havoc on the world's diverse ecosystems. There is no romanticization of nature--animals starve and do vicious things to one another-- but there is a stability and order which human beings are increasingly threatening. This perspective is by no means unique to Mr. Wohlleben, but he is certainly one of its most articulate advocates.Regardless of whether you share that outlook, readers will delight in the stories and science with which Wohlleben shows how animals live lives that are active, emotional and meaningful even with little or no human interaction.

Arrived on time, great condition

This is a wonderful book, so well written and really captures your heart as you read about how animals are just like humans in many ways. Each chapter is its own little story so you do not have to go in order

Of short, interesting stories