Rating: 
Summary: Great for a Layman, Questionable for a Professional
Review: Marc Hauser does a wonderful job of presenting the mind set and questions that a comparative cognition researcher asks. The writing is highly accessible and at the same time appropriately academic. As a professional in this field, I found the philosophical presentation of many of the ideas highly useful.However, Hauser makes some severe theoretical mistakes in his introduction that I find disturbing (i.e. the most profitable comparison among species is not necesarilly between animals and human infants and Human rules are not based on some understanding of what is right and wrong but, like animals are based on reproductive self interest). Hauser later redeems himself in the text of the book to some extent, but I was left with a feeling that there is a hole in his academic background when it comes to sociobiology and ethology. There is also an us versus them attitude, especially in the first few chapters where he is dealing with athropomorphism. It was wonderful to have the record for research and anecdotal observations set strait, but I would have preferred it without the condencending tone. Overall, this book reminded me of Marc's research; superior attitude, intriging outcome, but questionable methods. I am glad to have it in my library, but, I will always be leary of the source.
Rating: 
Summary: excellent book
Review: Marc Hauser has done an extraorindary service to the field of animal cognition. The book is great fun to read whether you are an expert in the field or not. Hauser does not dismiss anecdotal observations, but rather uses them to show why we need to collect more systematic observations and experiments to find out what animals think. It is refreshing to see a scientist explain things so clearly. This is a must read for anyone interested in the animal mind.
Rating: 
Summary: Not an exact science
Review: People often think that science should be conclusive, like a good mystery novel. This book illustrates, in an entertaining, layman-accessible style, what most topics of scientific study really give us. Through a satisfyingly large selection of anecdotal and experimental citations, Hauser explores the process of determining animals' motivations using only behavioral evidence. From this limited angle it's difficult to get very far, but he puts forth a number of viable hypotheses. His conclusions are presented gracefully, acknowledging that other people might interpret the evidence differently. I haven't known of many scientists (or even professors) who could do that! I really like the "tools" analogy and the explorations and comparisons with the human infant, as well as his captivating writing style. Maybe we will never find out exactly what goes through our pets' minds as they interact with us, but this book is the best, most realistic discussion I've come across. It is honest and doesn't take any questionable authority. And it makes a great read for people who are somewhat intellectual but are bored stiff by the likes of "Nature". I was also happy to learn that Marc D. Hauser is a homeboy of mine... I wasn't exactly a Pit Punk, but in my college days I spent a lot of time in that area - in the Film Archives in particular. I wonder how close we came to crossing paths.
Rating:
Summary: Not an exact science
Review: People often think that science should be conclusive, like a good mystery novel. This book illustrates, in an entertaining, layman-accessible style, what most topics of scientific study really give us. Through a satisfyingly large selection of anecdotal and experimental citations, Hauser explores the process of determining animals' motivations using only behavioral evidence. From this limited angle it's difficult to get very far, but he puts forth a number of viable hypotheses. His conclusions are presented gracefully, acknowledging that other people might interpret the evidence differently. I haven't known of many scientists (or even professors) who could do that! I really like the "tools" analogy and the explorations and comparisons with the human infant, as well as his captivating writing style. Maybe we will never find out exactly what goes through our pets' minds as they interact with us, but this book is the best, most realistic discussion I've come across. It is honest and doesn't take any questionable authority. And it makes a great read for people who are somewhat intellectual but are bored stiff by the likes of "Nature". I was also happy to learn that Marc D. Hauser is a homeboy of mine... I wasn't exactly a Pit Punk, but in my college days I spent a lot of time in that area - in the Film Archives in particular. I wonder how close we came to crossing paths.
Rating:
Summary: An Interesting Book That Doesn't Answer the Question
Review: The writing is uninspired. The organization is poor. Evidence is largely anecdotal. After reading the review in Scientific American, perhaps I was expecting too much, but this book was not at all what I had hoped for.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing
Review: The writing is uninspired. The organization is poor. Evidence is largely anecdotal. After reading the review in Scientific American, perhaps I was expecting too much, but this book was not at all what I had hoped for.
Rating:
Summary: Best around
Review: There are typically two types of books on the market in the area of animal cognition. On the one hand are those who merely offer their own impressions of what is going on in the animal mind. These impressions are fine, but they don't offer any reason why one impression is better than the next. Books that fall under this category are Elizabeth Marshall Thomas' "Hidden Life of Dogs", Jeffrey Masson's "When Elephants Weep" and most recently George Page's "Inside the Animal Mind". Page's book attempts to bring in modern science, but since he doesn't understand the issues, he fails miserably. On the other hand are books that tend to be dry and academic, and often argue that animals lack any kind of intelligence. What Hauser's book brings to this field is a keen understanding of the science, experience as a researcher who has worked in the wild and in captivity, and a love of animals. I highly recommend this book.
Rating:
Summary: Entertaining and interesting
Review: This book, written by a scientist, is readily accessible to the general public. What Hauser has done for the field of animal cognition, Steven Pinker has done for the field of human cognition. Hauser brings to this problem the great advantage of having studied animals in the wild and in the lab. However, rather than dismiss anecdotes, he embraces them, and then argues that we should take such observations as starting points for further investigation. His theory about animal minds, and in particular, the idea that all animals are equipped with a toolkit for survival, is fascinating, and should have profound implications for how we think about both human animal thought. I particularly liked how he leads the reader down a path of discovery without being condescending or pedantic.
Rating:
Summary: A must read!
Review: This is a fascinating book. Hauser should be congradulated for providing an entertaining tour of the animal mind. He argues, convincingly in my opinion, that all animals, humans included, have a universal mental toolkit that consists of three basic capacities: the ability to recognize objects, count how many there are, and find home by means of spatial navigation. Beyond such universal tools, one finds specializations such as the capacity for self recognition, the ability to deceive, and the capacity to produce communicative signals with reference. In addition to an elegant treatment of the animal mind, Hauser provides pet owners with a wonderful set of experiments that can be readily run on dogs, cats, parrots, and other pets. Instead of reading the typical mush on the book shelf, read this fascinating account.
Rating:
Summary: Not definitive.
Review: This is a report of ongoing studies, by many in different fields, of whether animals experience "moral emotions, feelings such as guilt, shame and embarrassment", if they're capable of inhibiting their own desires, if they "understand the impact of their" decisions, etc. I'm not sure how objective Mr. Hauser is however as, to me, he seems determined to have his opinion prevail as I can't recall one study he's accepted as valid. I'm sorry too that the studies are not definitive.
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