More praise for
Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are?

“A beautifully written and delightfully conceived popular science book, written by an eminent researcher who has dedicated his career to making the general public aware of just how smart animals are. Are We Smart Enough is on par with de Waal’s pioneering book Chimpanzee Politics: It is both a lovely read and, given its provocative premise, one that may antagonize the critic.”

—Science

“So, are we ‘smart enough to know how smart animals are’? The question will occur to you many times as you read Frans de Waal’s remarkable distillations of science in this astonishingly broad-spectrum book. I guarantee one thing: readers come away a lot smarter. As this book shows, we are here on Planet Earth with plenty of intelligent company.”

—Carl Safina, author of Beyond Words: What Animals Think and Feel

“Frans de Waal’s groundbreaking research has long challenged scientists, philosophers, and theologians to rethink the place of humans in the natural world, showing that we aren’t the only species with strategic ‘political’ behavior, elements of empathy, a sense of justice, and high intelligence. Here he covers not only primates, but a much wider range of species, showing his unique ability to translate the latest findings into sparkling, accessible, provocative books for the thinking public.”

—Robert M. Sapolsky, author of Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers

“You can’t help but get a sense that de Waal has placed another nail in the coffin of behaviorism. In animal after animal, de Waal shows the depths of their intelligence and triumphantly affirms that, yes, we are smart enough to see it, and the clues have been there all along.”

—Gregory Berns, author of How Dogs Love Us

“Frans de Waal brilliantly demonstrates through scientific evidence, inspiring stories, and common sense that we must fully appreciate the continuous evolutionary process that led to intelligence—understanding situations, reasoning, learning, emotional and empathic knowledge, communication, planning, creativity, and problem solving—and to other amazing cognitive skills that allow various species to best survive, each in their own way. A must for those who aspire to transcend the biases of both anthropocentrism and anthropodenial.”

—Matthieu Ricard, author of Altruism: The Power of Compassion to Change Yourself and the World

“Engaging and provocative . . . de Waal illuminates the latest ideas and thinking about animal minds and emotions. . . . He challenges us to accept the ultimate findings of this research: Our mental skills are the product of evolution, and all animals from spiders to octopuses to ravens and apes are thinkers in their own ways. And he asks us perhaps the most daunting question of all: Are we really smart enough to understand the minds of other animals?”

—Virginia Morell, author of Animal Wise: How We Know Animals Think and Feel

“A thoughtful and easy read, packed with information stemming from detailed empirical research, and one of de Waal’s most comparative works that goes well beyond the world of nonhuman primates with whom he’s most familiar.”

—Marc Bekoff, Psychology Today

“The book is not only full of information and thought-provoking, it’s also a lot of fun to read.”

—Nancy Szokan, The Washington Post

“Walks us through research revealing what a wide range of animal species are actually capable of. . . . [I]t all deals a pretty fierce wallop to our sense of specialness.”

—Jon Mooallem, The New York Times Book Review

“Engaging and informative.”

—The New York Times Book Review, Editors’ Choice

“A good book. Read it instead of watching TV or playing video games. The whole world will be better as a result.”

—Maria Rodale, The Huffington Post

“A fascinating history of the study of animal behavior and cognition.”

—Bark

“Amazing. . . . [T]he clarity of [de Waal’s] writing makes for a highly readable book. . . . [A] trip to the zoo may never be the same.”

—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

“Thoroughly engaging, remarkably informative, and deeply insightful. . . . [D]e Waal teaches readers as much about humankind as he does about our nonhuman relatives.”

—Publishers Weekly, boxed and starred review

“This insightful and fascinating work by a scientist who has been at the forefront of new thinking about primates and what it means to be human is highly recommended. De Waal fans and general readers interested in the field of animal cognition will be delighted.”

—Library Journal, boxed and starred review