…by living among the animals, in their world, Safina and the field scientists he visits show us…something too often overlooked in research and in conservation: who the animals are, and how they live. Though researchers study "species," this category is less interesting than thinking in terms of families and communities, each making its way at a particular pace and in a particular place. More compelling than facts about species are tales of individuals—characters, with personality—living among peers or kin.

02/10/2020

Safina (Beyond Words), a science writer, proposes in his eloquent treatise that numerous species throughout the animal kingdom form complex societies in their interactions with each other. He focuses on three: sperm whales in the Caribbean, scarlet macaws in the Peruvian Amazon, and chimpanzees in Uganda. Having spent weeks in the field with researchers studying each species, he has plenty of examples of how culture, as well as biology, shape behavior. Sperm whales worldwide, for example, are “basically one genetic ‘stock,’ ” yet individual groups each manifest their own distinctive sonar clicks to communicate. He constantly demonstrates nonhuman animals’ capacity for activities often assumed to be solely the domain of Homo sapiens. While it’s well-known that many animals learn by observation, Safina points out examples of those that can actually teach complicated tasks—for instance, female chimps correcting their offspring’s nut-opening technique. The text, written in an accessible style, is rich in similarly fascinating zoological tidbits. This revelatory work sheds as much light on what it means to be human as it does on the nature of other species. (Apr.)

NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY THE NEW YORK TIMES, KIRKUS REVIEWS, AND CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR

"Fascinating . . . [Becoming Wild] gives the reader a sense of being near these creatures and experiencing some of the most seductive environments on Earth. . . . Safina's prose achieves the elusive goal of being both informative and luminously evocative."
—The Wall Street Journal

“Combining the knowledge of a seasoned scientist with the skills of a good storyteller, Safina invites us to leave our cultural worlds and enter animals’ ones. . . . Becoming Wild deserves to be remembered.”
—NPR

"[Safina] turns the human view of animal cultures on its head. . . . Becoming Wild demands that we wake up and realize that we are intrinsically linked to our other-than-human neighbors."
—The Telegraph (UK)

“[Safina] shows us something too often overlooked in research and in conservation: who animals are, and how they live. . . . [And] it’s the stories of Safina’s days with these animals that move us.”
—The New York Times

"Engrossing. . . . In addition to fascinating dispatches from the ecological front lines [and] first-rate nature writing . . . Safina imparts a naturalist’s sense of unending wonder."
—The Christian Science Monitor

“Engaging and eye-opening. . . . Safina’s enthusiasm for the animal kingdom is contagious, and his clear writing makes his wide-reaching subject both approachable and tangible.”
—Shelf Awareness (starred review)

"Safina's lovely account of his travels with researchers . . . reveals majestic, closely knit communities. . . . And few readers will doubt that these magnificent creatures need urgent attention. Enthralling."
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“[A] bracing and enlightening book. . . . Safina’s writing on the watery depths and its denizens is sublime . . . [challenging] us to be more acutely aware of species whose social lives have much to teach us.”
—Science

“Full of rich observations . . . Becoming Wild offers readers a window into the complex and curious lives of the three species it depicts and invites [us] to observe the beauty and joy of each species’s nuances.”
—BookPage

“[A journey into] the wonder of life itself. . . . Becoming Wild is a warm and beckoning paean to our natural world.”
—The East Hampton Star

"Safina writes with passion and a sense of humor . . . reminding readers to contemplate the natural world as they think about their own points of vulnerability and resilience.”
—Washington Monthly

"An immersion in nature."
—AARP The Magazine

“Seminal. . . . By drawing attention to the importance of regional variation and acculturated behavior, Safina raises important issues for environmentalists.”
—Natural History

"Eloquent. . . . This revelatory work sheds as much light on what it means to be human as it does on the nature of other species."
—Publishers Weekly

Praise for Carl Safina

“Dr. Safina is a terrific writer, majestic and puckish in equal measure, with a contagious enthusiasm. . . . He draws out haunting resonances between animal lives and our own. . . . Captivating.”
—The New York Times

“[Safina] felicitously combines lambent writing with dazzling facts . . . illuminating our knowledge of significant and engaging subjects.”
—The Washington Post

“Brilliant . . . Each of Safina’s beautifully limned animal portraits is the weight of human influence and a challenge to exercise the power of empathy. . . . [Safina] is a font of research, his wonder contagious.”
—Elle

“Safina’s engaging writing takes readers along on his journey, so that we learn about these creatures as he does. . . . His adventures with researchers observing wild animals in the field are fascinating . . . entertaining, and informative.”
—Slate

04/01/2020

Humans have their own idea of what culture is, but animals have cultures too, says ecologist and conservationist Safina (nature and humanity, Stony Brook Univ.; Beyond Words). Culture is how humans and animals learn to survive, and culture adapts to change. Yet there is more to it, as Safina explores in his latest book, which is divided into three sections: Families, Beauty, and Peace. Families focuses on sperm whales, Beauty on macaws, and Peace on chimpanzees, although there is overlap on these subjects, and other animals and case studies are mentioned. Beauty is shorter in comparison, and at first, Peace seems ironic as much of it covers aggression and sex. Safina's frank conversations with experts and wonderfully descriptive writing from the field places readers right in the action. However, he also sometimes rephrases similar points and poses questions for thought, musing until readers lose an understanding of the initial thesis. VERDICT Though wide ranging at times, this work should interest fans of Safina and general readers seeking to learn more about animal behavior.—Elissa Cooper, Helen Plum Memorial Lib., Lombard, IL

Carl Safina starts off by bringing listeners along on a drenching trip to watch—and listen to—sperm whales off the coast of Dominica in the Caribbean. Listeners can feel his exasperation with the wetness and his growing understanding of the language hidden in the whales' clicks and squeaks. It's a feeling of learning along with the author. He's studying the ways whales and other animals in the wild pass along their culture and collective knowledge to each new generation. Safina also spends time observing macaws and chimpanzees to learn the secrets of their cultures. He speaks mainly about the lessons learned on his explorations, but there's a dramatic narration of a MOBY-DICK excerpt as well. J.A.S. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine

★ 2020-01-12
Humans possess culture, but so do animals according to this compelling account of three nonhuman societies: sperm whales, scarlet macaws, and chimpanzees.

Nature writer, activist, TV host, and founder of the Safina Center, the author notes that animals learn from their elders how to fit in, communicate, search for food, and identify friends and strangers. This is culture, and it's not inherited. "An individual receives genes only from its parents," writes the author, "but can receive culture from anyone and everyone in the social group…and because culture improves survival, culture can lead where genes must follow and adapt." During the 1950s, Navy personnel listening for Russian submarines were astonished to hear elaborate, beautiful songs that turned out to come from whales. As a result of the bestselling recording, "whales went from being ingredients of margarine in the 1960s to spiritual icons of the 1970s emerging environmental movement." Safina's lovely account of his travels with researchers studying sperm whales reveals a majestic, closely knit community. Turning to scarlet macaws, every one of which knows its friends and avoids macaws that don't belong, the author wonders what happens to a social organism after a few thousand generations. In traditional evolution, new species appear when isolation (due to a river, mountain range, etc.) allows the changes of Darwinian natural selection to spread throughout one group but not others. Don't animal cultures produce a similar reproductive isolation? In fact, cultural selection, although controversial, may act as another engine of evolution. Our closest relatives, chimpanzees, share 98% of our genes as well as many cultural traits, especially a fractious social system in which macho males compete for leadership with more violence than seems reasonable. Most books on natural history include pleas for preservation of the wild, and Safina's is no exception. Sadly, none of his subjects are thriving, and few readers will doubt that these magnificent creatures need urgent attention.

Enthralling accounts of three animals that lead complex social lives and deserve to continue living.