The Hidden Life of Life: A Walk through the Reaches of Time
Written by Elizabeth Marshall Thomas
Narrated by Elizabeth Marshall Thomas
4.5/5
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About this audiobook
Inspired by the idea of symbiosis in evolution—that all living things evolve in a series of cooperative relationships—Thomas leads listeners on a journey through the progression of life. Along the way she shares the universal likenesses, experiences, and environments of “Gaia’s creatures,” from amoebas in plant soil to the pets we love, from proud primates to Homo sapiens hunter-gatherers on the African savanna. Fervently rejecting “anthropodenial,” the notion that nonhuman life does not share characteristics with humans, Thomas instead shows that paramecia can learn, plants can communicate, humans aren’t really as special as we think we are—and that it doesn’t take a scientist to marvel at the smallest inhabitants of the natural world and their connections to all living things.
A unique voice on anthropology and animal behavior, Thomas challenges scientific convention and the jargon that prevents us all from understanding all living things better. Narrated by Thomas, this joyful book is a fascinating look at the challenges and behaviors shared by creatures from bacteria to larvae to parasitic fungi, a potted hyacinth to the author herself, and all those in between.
Elizabeth Marshall Thomas, an anthropologist and animal behaviorist, has published thirteen previous books, including the New York Times best seller "The Hidden Life of Dogs." She lives in Peterborough, New Hampshire. Learn more at elizabethmarshallthomas.net.
Elizabeth Marshall Thomas
One of the most widely read American anthropologists, Elizabeth Marshall Thomas has observed dogs, cats, and elephants during her half-century-long career. In the 1980s Thomas studied elephants alongside Katy Payne—the scientist who discovered elephants' communication via infrasound. In 1993 Thomas wrote The Hidden Life of Dogs, a groundbreaking work of animal psychology that spent nearly a year on the New York Times bestseller list. Her book on cats, Tribe of Tiger, was also an international bestseller. She lives in Peterborough, New Hampshire, on her family's former farm, where she observes deer, bobcats, bear, and many other species of wildlife.
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Reviews for The Hidden Life of Life
6 ratings2 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Very Engaging and informative. I particularly loved hearing about the author’s direct experience with the San people. I listened to the very end of the acknowledgments and was touched to the point of tears with her gratitude for the more than human beings that enrich her/our lives
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Great book. The author is very knowledgeable, writes in an informative and entertaining way. It puts in perspective our idea that we are the most accomplished and intelligent species on earth. We are not.
The author seems like someone I would have liked to meet.