Kate Horowitz

Science historians will enjoy this well-written and thoroughly researched volume. A better choice for armchair naturalists is Sean B. Carroll's Remarkable Creatures: Epic Adventures in the Search of the Origins of Species, which discusses much of the same history in a more accessible way.

This engaging, compassionate read will touch the hearts of animal lovers but is unlikely to convert skeptics. Readers in search of a straightforward review of current animal-cognition literature may be put off by Braitman's inclusion of details from her personal life and should turn to Morell's book, mentioned above, instead.