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Beautiful Minds: The Parallel Lives of Great Apes and Dolphins | 
 enlarge | Authors: Maddalena Bearzi, Craig B. Stanford
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Category: Book
List Price: $24.95
Buy New: $15.49
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Avg. Customer Rating:  6 reviews
Sales Rank: 320957
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 368
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 4.6 x 1.4
ISBN: 0674027817
Dewey Decimal Number: 599.881513
EAN: 9780674027817
ASIN: 0674027817
Publication Date: April 30, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
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Product Description
Apes and dolphins: primates and cetaceans. Could any creatures appear to be more different? Yet both are large-brained intelligent mammals with complex communication and social interaction. In the first book to study apes and dolphins side by side, Maddalena Bearzi and Craig B. Stanford, a dolphin biologist and a primatologist who have spent their careers studying these animals in the wild, combine their insights with compelling results. Beautiful Minds explains how and why apes and dolphins are so distantly related yet so cognitively alike and what this teaches us about another large-brained mammal: Homo sapiens. Noting that apes and dolphins have had no common ancestor in nearly 100 million years, Bearzi and Stanford describe the parallel evolution that gave rise to their intelligence. And they closely observe that intelligence in action, in the territorial grassland and rainforest communities of chimpanzees and other apes, and in groups of dolphins moving freely through open coastal waters. The authors detail their subjects’ ability to develop family bonds, form alliances, and care for their young. They offer an understanding of their culture, politics, social structure, personality, and capacity for emotion. The resulting dual portrait?with striking overlaps in behavior?is key to understanding the nature of “beautiful minds.” (20080128)
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| Customer Reviews: Read 1 more reviews...
I loved this book! August 27, 2008
This book is a rare gift to a reader interested in natural history and wildlife behaviour. Two world-class wildlife researchers share with us their knowledge and insights obtained through their lives' work, as well as that of the researchers before them, with a thoughtful, engaging and inspiring presentation. Speaking from both analytical and in-field experiences the authors combine their two voices in an eloquent conversational manner while filling each paragraph with a wealth of information. The fascination comes two-fold while we learn not only about the impressive intelligence of dolphins and of primates, but also of how similar the cultural and behavioural strategies are between the two species... and, then we see the parallels to our own species. I recommend this book to students and wildlife enthusiasts as well as to anyone just interested in a good non-fiction read.Argentina: The Bradt Travel GuideBear Attacks in CanadaNorthern California nature GuideWashington & Oregon nature GuideCanada Flying HighWorld Volunteers, 4th Edition: The World Guide to Voluntary Work in Nature Conservation (World Volunteers: The World Guide to Humanitarian & Development Volu)Archaeo-Volunteers: The World Guide to Archaeological and Heritage Volunteering (We Care Guides)
Enrich your mind! August 13, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
As a scientist and educator, I found this book to be a very satisfying and enjoyable read, in terms of the scientific content, educational value, and the fascinating stories that are told. I would recommend this book for the scientist/non-scientist, evolutionist/creationist (it will enlighten you, you will learn more about yourself, for sure!). The book focuses on the cetaceans (dolphins) and apes (mainly chimpanzees) of course, but it will make you think about the human mind, how similar we can be to both groups, not in a genetic or anatomical sense but in terms of our behaviors. I highly recommend this book, it is rare to find a work that combines the introspective/contemplative side of science, with sound field science (as both authors are highly respected and prolific researchers in their respective fields).
A biased review June 19, 2008
5 out of 7 found this review helpful
My review will be biased and I will keep it short, as I happen to be the brother of one of the Authors of "Beautiful Mind" (Maddalena).
Being myself a scientist who has been working on cetaceans for over 20 years, and an author and reviewer of several scientific publications, I am naturally inclined to strong criticism when I read this kind of literature.
And yet, I really like this book. It is elegantly written, full of intriguing stories and ideas, intellectually rich and even good-looking and pleasant to handle in its present novel-like format.
Craig and Maddalena chose a fascinating but also challenging subject and they managed to unfold it with a clear and understandable language and lots of real-life examples.
Their love for the animals gets across every single line of text, but there is no trace of romanticism, pietism or new age. Instead, the reader finds a clear conservation message and a vibrant call to ensure the protection and well-being of these magnificent and highly-evolved creatures.
Five stars.
Fascinating Look Into the Minds of the Cetaceans and Apes Without Anthropomorphizing June 19, 2008
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
Somewhere along the evolutionary path, cetaceans and the great apes parted ways and headed in different evolutionary directions...one to the forests and one to the oceans. And, that was quite some time ago; around 50 million years, and yet the two groups share many common threads behaviorally. How is that possible?
The answer lies in the development of the brain and adaptations to the surrounding environments of each of the species involved. Chimpanzees have adapted to forest life in one way, while gorillas another. The same can be said for dolphins as opposed to orcas and other cetacean species.
This book is an eloquently written look into the minds of the great apes, the cetaceans when compared to humans. It manages to enlighten while being highly entertaining and avoiding the trap of anthropomorphism that is so common when comparing animal species to humans. I would highly recommend this book to all, with the exception of staunch creationists, as it will make you look at dolphins and apes in an entirely new light.
 where two very different worlds collide June 6, 2008
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
I have always been interested in both primates and cetaceans and have read all of the books and articles that I can on the both of them. But this book takes it to a whole new level comparing two animals that seem very different in environment and in body structure. Its amazing how alike we all really are to one another. If you dont believe in the Darwinism theory of evolution this book is not for you. But if you are a true scientist and truly interested in learning about the mind of animals that may truly be very close to humans in intelligence this book is for you.
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