• Booklist Reviews : Booklist Reviews 2006 November #1
  In a series of short essays, psychoanalyst and animal-loving author Masson (When Elephants Weep, 1995; Dogs Never Lie About Love, 1997) examines his 100 favorite animals--actually more than 100, as many accounts (pigeons, beetles) cover an entire group of animals. In impressionistic prose, Masson conveys snippets of information along with his own feelings and views about each animal. In taxonomically wide-ranging discourse, Masson looks at animals ranging from octopus to okapi, from spider to tuatara, from chicken to sturgeon. Typically, each essay touches on the aspects of the animal in question that Masson finds most fascinating, leading to musings on emotions and ethics engendered by each species. An essay on jellyfish discusses the dangers of their venom and the wonders of their eyes, revealing that the more we know, the less anthropocentric we become. Although Masson's emotional writing style is not for everyone, his breathless passion for the other lives that share our planet is infectious, and the short-essay format makes for interesting, bite-size reading.((Reviewed November 1, 2006)) Copyright 2006 Booklist Reviews.

Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson, former psychoanalyst and projects director of the Sigmund Freud Archives, is the bestselling author of two dozen books, including Raising the Peaceable Kingdom, Slipping into Paradise, The Pig Who Sang to the Moon, The Nine Emotional Lives of Cats, Dogs Never Lie About Love, and When Elephants Weep. A longtime resident of Berkeley, California, he now lives in New Zealand with his wife, his two sons, and several animal friends.