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Title details for Meet the Neighbors by Brandon Keim - Available

Meet the Neighbors

Animal Minds and Life in a More-than-Human World

by Brandon Keim
Paul Woodson
Audiobook
3 of 3 copies available
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3 of 3 copies available
Honeybees deliberate democratically. Rats reflect on the past. Snakes have friends. In recent decades, our understanding of animal cognition has exploded, making it indisputably clear that the cities and landscapes around us are filled with thinking, feeling individuals besides ourselves. But the way we relate to wild animals has yet to catch up. In Meet the Neighbors, science journalist Brandon Keim asks: what would it mean to take the minds of other animals seriously?
In this wide-ranging exploration of animals' inner lives, Keim takes us into courtrooms and wildlife hospitals, under backyard decks and into deserts, to meet anew the wild creatures who populate our communities and the philosophers, rogue pest controllers, ecologists, wildlife doctors, and others who are reimagining our relationships to them. When we come to understand the depths of their pleasures and pains, the richness of their family lives and their histories, what do we owe so-called pests and predators, or animals who are sick or injured? Can thinking of nonhumans as our neighbors help chart a course to a kinder, gentler planet? As Keim suggests, the answers to these questions are central to how we understand not only the rest of the living world, but ourselves.
Meet the Neighbors opens our eyes to the world of vibrant intelligence just outside our doors.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    July 24, 2024

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9798855556117
      • File size: 334105 KB
      • Duration: 11:36:02

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from May 20, 2024
      Science journalist Keim (The Eye of the Sandpiper) investigates what animals think and feel in this bracing inquiry. Pushing back against the long-held scientific consensus that animals lack consciousness, Keim notes studies indicating that many birds model their nests on others they have seen and practice making them sturdier over time, behavior that suggests conscious decision-making about what materials to use and how to incorporate them. Insights into the emotional lives of animals surprise, as when Keim discusses research showing that garter snakes form “friendships” and that rats are “especially generous” when sharing food with anxious companions. Such revelations should compel humans to reconsider their relationship with the natural world, he argues, discussing how a recent campaign to gain legal personhood for a Bronx Zoo Asian elephant envisions what a more considerate relationship might look like. Research on honeybees that deliberate as a hive and Italian tree frogs that can count looks beyond the usual subjects of animal intelligence studies, and Keim provides fascinating insight into ways humanity might take animal rights more seriously (political parties dedicated to animal rights in Canada and the Netherlands aim to provide creatures with parliamentary representation). The result is a potent complement to Martha C. Nussbaum’s Justice for Animals. Illus.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      This fun and evocative audiobook begins with narrator Paul Woodson's authoritative and upbeat delivery of the author's many accounts of urban wildlife. Keim's description of San Francisco's coyote population, performed with an air of respect and wonder, is particularly joyful. Woodson shifts his tone as the author discusses his deadly serious new vision for wildlife science and management. Keim questions the validity of wildlife policies such as the elimination of invasive species. Woodson's serious delivery believably reflects the author's objections to having a tiny minority of politically aggressive sport hunters dictate most wildlife management decisions. His performance matches the author's ability to make learning about animals and the politics that surround them both enjoyable and inspiring. J.T. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine
    • Library Journal

      December 6, 2024

      Scientific studies, anecdotal records collected over many seasons, and current scientific theories combine here to give listeners a glimpse into the animal world. Journalist Keim (The Eye of the Sandpiper: Stories from the Living World) has much to say about how various animal communities are doing and how humans can help, considering perceived versus provable theories regarding animal intelligence. Thoughts on whether or not it is kinder to help wildlife or let nature take its course are discussed, and whether or not animals' lives are filled mostly with suffering or joy. The book looks at lizards, honeybees, donkeys, snakes, and rats, delving into efforts to support them without interfering with the surrounding ecosystems. The people in this story and their relationships with the species they observe or support offer fantastic insight into the value these species bring to our planet and what kinds of intelligence and insights they have that make the world a better place. Narrator Paul Woodson modulates the timbre of his voice so that it is not quite like that of a school documentary narrator. Listeners will feel informed without feeling overly burdened. VERDICT Surprises and insight await the listener here.--Laura Trombley

      Copyright 2024 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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