When Elephants Weep: The Emotional Lives of Animals

About this book

This national bestseller exploring the complex emotional lives of animals was hailed as "a masterpiece" by Elizabeth Marshall Thomas and as "marvelous" by Jane Goodall. The popularity of When Elephants Weephas swept the nation, as author Jeffrey Masson appeared on Dateline NBC, Good Morning America,and was profiled in Peoplefor his ground-breaking and fascinating study. Not since Darwin's The Expression of Emotions in Man and Animalshas a book so thoroughly and effectively explored the full range of emotions that exist throughout the animal kingdom. From dancing squirrels to bashful gorillas to spiteful killer whales, Masson and coauthor Susan McCarthy bring forth fascinating anecdotes and illuminating insights that offer powerful proof of the existence of animal emotion. Chapters on love, joy, anger, fear, shame, compassion, and loneliness are framed by a provocative re-evaluation of how we treat animals, from hunting and eating them to scientific experimentation. Forming a complete and compelling picture of the inner lives of animals, When Elephants Weepassures that we will never look at animals in the same way again.