Home › Bestsellers › Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are?
  • Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are? by Frans de Waal book cover
  • Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are? by Frans de Waal book cover
1 2

Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are?

by Frans de Waal

Rethinking animal intelligence

$16.47 USD
$27.45 USD $16.47 USD
Save 40%

Paperback New

Delivery to your door
In stock·Dispatches in 1–2 business days
Standard shipping* from $4.35
Standard shipping transit* 5–8 business days after dispatch

Faster options are available.

Rates and delivery estimates depend on your destination and item quantity. Estimates are informational only; the final shipping method and rate are selected at checkout.
Secure checkout
American Express Apple Pay DiscoverGoogle Pay Mastercard PayPalVisa
30-day eligible returns Returns & refunds policy

Awards & Recognition

  • Bestseller

    New York Times bestseller

    The metadata identifies the book as a New York Times bestseller.

  • Critical praise

    Praise from Alison Gopnik in The Atlantic

    Alison Gopnik describes the book as a passionate and convincing case for the sophistication of nonhuman minds.

AlbakiReads Editorial

Rethinking animal intelligence

Frans de Waal examines animal cognition across a wide range of species, including crows, dolphins, parrots, elephants, octopuses, and primates. The examples address abilities such as tool use, memory, and distinguishing human social cues, bringing the book’s central question into focus: how people assess intelligence in animals, and whether those measures have led us to underestimate them. Zoology and the study of cognition meet here in a comparative exploration that also raises questions about how human intelligence is understood.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • Readers interested in animal cognition and zoology.
  • Those curious about comparisons between human and animal intelligence.
  • Readers seeking examples of cognitive abilities across many species.

Themes

Animal cognitionTool use and memoryComparative intelligenceHuman judgments of animals

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

Hailed as a classic, Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are? explores the oddities and complexities of animal cognition--in crows, dolphins, parrots, sheep, wasps, bats, chimpanzees, and bonobos--to reveal how smart animals really are, and how we've underestimated their abilities for too long. Did you know that octopuses use coconut shells as tools, that elephants classify humans by gender and language, and that there is a young male chimpanzee at Kyoto University whose flash memory puts that of humans to shame? Fascinating, entertaining, and deeply informed, de Waal's landmark work will convince you to rethink everything you thought you knew about animal--and human--intelligence.

Shipping & returnsShipping options, delivery timing, and our return policy.

In-stock items normally dispatch within 1–2 business days. The ZIP-code estimator on this page is informational only; the final shipping method, price, and availability are confirmed at checkout for your full order.

For the initial delivery estimate we use these transit windows after dispatch: Standard 5–8 business days, Expedited 2–4 business days, and Priority 1–2 business days. Holiday delays are not included.

Eligible items can be returned within 30 days in accordance with our return policy.

Customer reviews

You may also like

View all