What Sheep Think About the Weather
How to Listen to What Animals Are Trying to Say
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- CHF 9.00
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- CHF 9.00
Beschreibung des Verlags
Are animals trying to tell us something—and have we been too distracted to notice?
It started with a hummingbird dive-bombing Amelia Thomas over her morning coffee, and a pair of piglets who just wouldn’t stay put. Soon Amelia, journalist and new farmer, begins to question the communications of the creatures all around her: her pigs, her dogs, the pheasant family inhabiting her wood, her ‘difficult’ big red horse: even the earwigs in the farm’s dark, damp corners. Are they all just animals reacting instinctually to the world around them—or are they trying to communicate something deeper?
Driven by lifelong curiosity, Amelia embarks on a journey to uncover what animals truly seek to say to humans. On the way, along with ground-breaking chimps and circumspect octopuses, she’ll meet an extraordinary cast of experts, from animal behaviorists and anthrozoologists to trackers and psychologists, and even explore the surprising insights of pet psychics, A.I. researchers, and animal mindfulness practitioners. Each perspective offers a new layer of understanding about the subtle, complex ways animals connect with us—and will deepen our appreciation for every creature with whom we share our planet.
In What Sheep Think About the Weather, Amelia chronicles her sometimes difficult discoveries with humor, heart, and awe. More than just a memoir, this book is a call to listen—not only to the animals we love but to the untamed world around us. What if the answers to some of humanity’s greatest questions have been whispered to us all along?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this wide-ranging exploration, journalist and farmer Thomas (The Zoo on the Road to Nablus) sets out to discover how humans can better listen to animals. While some human-animal communications seem obvious—a dog wags its tail when it's ready for a walk, a cat meows to be let inside or out—Thomas seeks to go deeper, wondering "what more do they say to us that we're missing, and how can we learn to understand?" She looks to biologists, psychologists, neuroscientists, philosophers, and animal trainers, as well as the dogs, horses, and piglets that roam her family farm in Nova Scotia. Readers learn about the intricacies of birdsong, variations in pig calls, and the many gestures chimpanzees use to communicate, as well as how to best play with a dog, train a falcon, and calm a horse (calm yourself first). Thomas's passion and concern for animals comes through in vivid scenes and poignant prose that reveals the importance of understanding animals on their own terms ("I've learned that just as every tiny being is its own feeling, speaking someone, we are all simultaneously part of a greater uncut cloth"). It's an inspiring display of empathy.
