Thought I would enjoy this book...but I did not. So much so, that I quit reading before I even got halfway. The writing was sometimes choppy and all over the place, which made it difficult to read. Some of the "facts" I wholeheartedly disagreed with, specifically ones about dog breeds and training. Not the book for me, but I do applaud Temple Grandin and what she's done in the feed animal world as far as quality of life for those animals.

I had high expectations but was really disappointed. Like others have pointed out, this is just a collection of anecdotes and personal beliefs rather than animal science. Not sure if the lack of citations are on purpose but she should know better.
What bothered me the most was how she tried to pass beliefs as fact even at times when it's clear she knows nothing about the subject in question.
This was my first Temple Grandin book, now I doubt I'll read anything else by her.

i loved this book. the author is living a full, productive life as an animal scientist. the author has autism, and she has the incredible ability to see the world through some animals' eyes, or rather understand animals and their abilities in a way that is refreshing and very real. this book is not about the shortcomings of people with autism, or all of the things that animals can't do or understand; rather, it's about all of the extraordinary, invaluable talents that animals have, that perhaps we don't fully understand. While reading this book, the reader realizes that often many people with autism have unique abilities that the rest of us can only dream of.
i highly recommend this book; it is incredibly insightful. i found myself repeatedly finding such logic in Grandin's wisdom that just made such sense.

Awesome, incredible, fascinating, wonderful and satisfying!!!!

Finally finished! This was really an interesting read. I will no longer have the disdain for crows I have previously felt--they are really quite intelligent(though I may still find them a little creepy in large groups). The author, who is autistic has long had a special connection to animals and is now an expert on animal behavior. She describes animals in many different ways from their feelings to their thoughts(and gives amazing evidence about language abilities). Dogs and cows are probably discussed the most, but other animals are also included. Really fascinating details that help me understand our neurotic dog in a whole new way.

TOGS - G:AUDIO BOOKSNon FictionAnimals in Translation


Teh Blurbz : Temple Grandin's Animals in Translation speaks in the clear voice of a woman who emerged from the other side of autism, bringing with her an extraordinary message about how animals think and feel.

Temple's professional training as an animal scientist and her history as a person with autism have given her a perspective like that of no other expert in the field. Standing at the intersection of autism and animals, she offers unparallelled observations and groundbreaking ideas about both.

Autistic people can often think the way animals think - in fact, Grandin and co-author Catherine Johnson see autism as a kind of was station on the road from animals to humans - putting autistic people in the perfect position to translate "animal talk". Temple is a faithful guide into their world, exploring animal pain, fear, aggression, love, friendship, communication, learning, and yes, even animal genius. Not only are animals much smarter than anyone ever imagined, in some cases animals are out-and-out brilliant.

The sweep of Animals in Translation is immense, merging an animal scientist's thirty years of study with her keen perceptions as a person with autism - Temple sees what others cannot. Temple Grandin is like no other author on the subject of animals because of her training and because of her autism: understanding animals is in her blood and in her bones.

Unabridged, 12 hours on 10 Cds.
VBR 22KHz mono Ogg Vorbis

The author of the book is autistic and an expert in animal behavior. She believes her autism gives her an edge in her profession as she believes she thinks a lot more like animals do. She speaks of herself as thinking in pictures, not words. She also writes of noticing a lot of details that normal people don't--but that animals do.

I found the book interesting not only for what it had to say about animal behavior but also for what Grandin had to say about her own autism. However, I found the book repetitive and grew tired of it 3/4 of the way through, so I just skimmed the rest. This is a book that has been in my TBR stack for some time and which I've attempted to read in the past, and just never finished, though I sort of wanted to. This time I'm giving up.

Horrible. If I have to read one more sentence of her saying how special she was and 'that's why she's able to understand animals better than normal people' I'm going to scream!

Temple, if you understand animals so well, maybe you'd understand that they don't want to be killed for burgers. So maybe don't design slaughterhouses and believe that they could be humane. I don't think you understand animals nearly as well as you believe, and would have others believe.

Almost DNF’ed it. As a dog expert, this book was entirely disconnected from reality about the behavior and traits of dogs. The writing was childlike, juvenile, and came across as if the reader was highly arrogant. While I understand that it was mostly the authors personal opinion, most claims were not grounded in facts or even moderate plausibility.

This was a GREAT book for anyone who wants to learn about the way animals process information - and as a bonus, you learn about how humans do as well. I love that the author puts things in terms a lay person can understand, and I love that she is honest and humble. Grandin writes matter-of-factly about her own disability, and how it has enabled her to identify with the minds of animals in certain ways. I came away with a deeper understanding of how to interact with my horses and dogs, and found that many of the ideas I had suspected about their mentality, she confirms.

There were a few small (very small) theoretical points on which I disagreed with the author. But these minor issues are entirely theoretical, and don't take anything away from the book.

A very worthwhile read for any animal lover/owner/handler, or just anyone with an interest in the mind and how it functions.

I really liked learning about animal behavior.

Added 1/27/09

2/25/14 - I plan to get this book soon as an audio book from audible.com.
A short audio sample can be heard here:
http://www.audible.com/pd/Science-Tec...

A GR reviewer (Clif) wrote "The word 'animals' is in the title, but the reader learns a lot about human behavior from this book."

Update 3/24/14 - I borrowed the CD version of this audiobook from my public library. It's excellent.

Update 3/30/14 - I finished listening to this audio book. IMO, it's a "must" for people interested in animals. 5 stars!