The Inner Life of Animals

Love, Grief, and Compassion: Surprising Observations of a Hidden World

By: Peter Wohlleben

Narrated by: Mike Grady

Length: 7 hrs and 23 mins

Publisher's summary

Through vivid stories of devoted pigs, two-timing magpies, and scheming roosters, The Inner Life of Animals weaves the latest scientific research into how animals interact with the world with Peter Wohlleben's personal experiences in forests and fields.

Horses feel shame, deer grieve, and goats discipline their kids. Ravens call their friends by name, rats regret bad choices, and butterflies choose the very best places for their children to grow up.

In this, his latest book, Peter Wohlleben follows the hugely successful The Hidden Life of Trees with insightful stories into the emotions, feelings, and intelligence of animals around us. Animals are different from us in ways that amaze us - and they are also much closer to us than we ever would have thought.

©2017 Peter Wohlleben, Ludwig Verlag, Jane Billinghurst, Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson (P)2017 Novel Audio Inc.

Critic reviews

"Like The Hidden Life of Trees, Peter Wohlleben's The Inner Life of Animals will rock your world. Surprising, humbling, and filled with delight, this book shows us that animals think, feel and know in much the same way as we do - and that their lives are, to them, as precious as ours are to us." (Sy Montgomery, author of The Soul of an Octopus)

"With the same charm and clarity that drew so many readers to The Hidden Life of Trees, Peter Wohlleben has produced another gem. I found delight on every page, thanks to the author's rare skill at blending scientific discoveries with his own wealth of insightful personal experiences. Read this book, and never again doubt that we share the Earth with other beings living rich and colorful lives." (Jonathan Balcombe, author of What a Fish Knows)

"Animal lovers everywhere will be enthralled by The Inner Life of Animals. Find out what squirrels, deer, and other animals really do out in the woods." (Temple Grandin)

on sentience

every creature is sentient in it's way. we must still eat. i loved the book.

Intriguing, Cohert Arguments for a Closer Look

Fascinating exploration of the world of animals; a powerful study. Hard to put down, easy to grasp. More, please.

Thoughtful

The narrator is excellent, and I have much to consider after reading this. Excellent!

Amusing perspective on animals

The book was entertaining, including personal observations of animals, with a little science, as admitted by the author. It was a relaxing read, easy to listen to, and a little educational too.

Great Read about Animals Emotions and Science

Already and animal lover (so I don't eat them) and this book made me very happy to read!

Imperative thinking

This book represents a beginning of modern imperative thinking; if most life is to continue to exist on earth. And to have some semblance of quality.
Strikes a path toward empathy, compassion and respect for all forms of life; which is well over due.

Valuable, sincere, informative.

I really enjoyed the way the book was written and narrated.
It was informational and entertaining without being overbearing.
We could all use a leaf out of this guys book on perspective, how we live our lives, and how we thing of the world around us.

Reflective Anecdotes

Reflective anecdotes on various animal behavior, some of the stories felt familiar as repeats from secret lives of trees or reused through the book to illustrate different arguments. Great narration.

Thankful for this presentation of a sometimes sensitive issue

I appreciated the way Wohlleben shared his observations in an educational, not preachy style. My hope is that
people besides animal lovers will listen to this and consider the reality of a diet based on the suffering of animals (factory farms).

Wonderful

Some books add to your life by widening your understanding of your relationship to the world, in this case animals, who share the planet with us. This book does just that. I believe I can be a better human after listening to this audio book.