Wildhood, Barbara NattersonHorowitz
Wildhood, Barbara NattersonHorowitz
List: $25.99 | Sale: $18.20
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Wildhood
The Astounding Connections Between Human and Animal Adolescents

Author: Barbara Natterson-Horowitz, Kathryn Bowers

Narrator: Robin Miles

Unabridged: 10 hr 23 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 09/17/2019


Synopsis

A New York Times Editor’s Pick ** People Best Books ** Publishers Weekly Most Anticipated Books ** Chicago Tribune 28 Books You Need to Read Now **

“It blew my mind to discover that adolescent animals and humans are so similar…I loved this book!” —Temple Grandin, author of Animals Make Us Human and Animals in Translation

A “vivid…and fascinating” (Los Angeles Times) investigation of human and animal adolescence and nature’s guide to growing up from the New York Times bestselling authors of Zoobiquity.

Harvard evolutionary biologist Barbara Natterson-Horowitz and animal behaviorist Kathryn Bowers studied thousands of wild species searching for evidence of human-like adolescence in other animals. With a groundbreaking synthesis of animal behavior, human psychology, and evolutionary biology, their research uncovered something remarkable: the same four high-stakes tests shape the destiny of every adolescent on planet Earth—how to be safe, how to navigate social hierarchies, how to connect romantically, and how to live independently. Safety. Status. Sex. Self-reliance.

To bring these challenges to life, the authors analyzed GPS and radio collar data from four wild adolescent animals. Will a predator-naïve penguin become easy prey? Can a low-born hyena socialize his way to a better life? Did a young humpback choose the right mate? Will a newly independent grey wolf starve, or will he become self-reliant? The result is a game-changing perspective on anxiety, risky behavior, sexual first times, and leaving home that can help teenagers and young adults coming of age in a rapidly changing world.

As they discover that “adolescence isn’t just for humans” through “rollicking tales of young animals navigating risk, social hierarchy, and sex with all the bravura (and dopiness) of our own teenage beasts” (People), readers will learn that in fact, this volatile and vulnerable phase of life creates the basis of adult confidence, success, and even happiness. This is an invaluable guide for parents, teenagers, and anyone who cares about adolescence and the science of growing up, who will find “the similarities between animal and human teenagers uncanny, and the lessons they have to learn remarkably similar” (The New York Times Book Review).

About Barbara Natterson-Horowitz

Barbara Natterson-Horowitz, MD, is a Visiting Professor at Harvard University in the Department of Human Evolutionary Biology. She is also Professor of Medicine/Cardiology at UCLA and President of the International Society of Evolution, Medicine, and Public Health. She is the coauthor of Zoobiquity and Wildhood.

About Kathryn Bowers

Kathryn Bowers is an animal behaviorist and writer who has taught at UCLA and Harvard. A Future Tense Fellow at New America in Washington, DC, she was an editor at the Atlantic Monthly, CNN-International in London, and at Zócalo Public Square in Los Angeles. She is the coauthor of Zoobiquity and Wildhood.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Kelly

A super interesting comparison on the awkward stages of growing up across the animal world and how human behavior isn't so unique after all. I also love that this was written by two women who blatantly point out multiple times that research is often done on the male of the species instead of the fem......more

Goodreads review by Nancy

A book on a topic I've never read about in non-human animals. Being a teenager is tough, and adolescence in other animals is equally awkward, clueless and scary. This book follows 4 characters. .. a humpback whale, a hyena, a wolf and a penguin, as they progress from childhood to adulthood. We see t......more

Goodreads review by Dixie

This is an amazing, fascinating book. I highly recommend it for all parents, middle/jr high/high school teachers and administrators, and animal trainers of all species. Adolescence is not childhood, and it is not adulthood. It is different in countless ways, we know that. But what this book does is......more


Quotes

"Narrator Robin Miles adds a continuous tone of excitement to this scientific exploration of life as a teenage mammal. The authors cleverly examine what they label 'wildhood'—those curious and naïve years after childhood and before adulthood. Much like the audiobook's young subjects, Miles's voice pops with energy. She picks up the pace and adds tension when drama is called for, such as the stalking of penguins by a leopard seal, and other such scenes that show animal behavior. Whether detailing the complex hierarchy of a hyena den or comparing social media 'likes' to primate grooming habits, her narration carries each scene to its dramatic conclusion. Miles's performance makes expanding one's understanding of adolescent mammals great fun."