Wild Rituals: 10 Lessons Animals Can Teach Us About Connection, Community, and Ourselves - Hardcover

O'Connell, Caitlin

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1452184852 ISBN 13: 9781452184852

Publisher: Chronicle Books, 2021

Synopsis

“In this beautiful, sweeping book that encompasses animals from insects to humans, Caitlin O’Connell not only arms our profound connections to the rest of the natural world; she also, at a time of intense division and strife, importantly highlights how, through ritual, we can connect again with each other.”
―SY MONTGOMERY, New York Times bestselling author of The Soul of an Octopus and How to Be a Good Creature
 
“Nature is heavily ritualized. Caitlin O’Connell provides a delightful tour of the animal kingdom to help us discover all of the rituals in fights, play, courtship, greetings, and mourning. As for us, rituals make social life more predictable and easier to manage.”
―FRANS DE WAAL, New York Times bestselling author of Mama’s Last Hug and Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are?

“Caitlin O'Connell takes a fascinating look at rituals, both human and non-human, and at the deep ties that link them.”
―ELIZABETH KOLBERT, Pulitzer Prize Winner and New York Times bestselling author of The Sixth Extinction
 
"Riveting, informative, and hopeful.  Every page has some wondrous new insight that moves or astonishes. Caitlin O'Connell writes with such abundant curiosity and passion that leaves us transformed, with new hope for the way rituals might lead us to a deeper, more meaningful, and ultimately, more humane way of being.  A must-read, especially in these challenging times."
―JENNIFER ACKERMAN, New York Times bestselling author of The Bird Way and The Genius of Birds
 
“Behavior expert and master storyteller Caitlin O’Connell illuminates the vast but little-known realm of rituals. And she does so beautifully in this solid and delightfully written book. “
―CARL SAFINA, New York Times bestselling author of Beyond Words and Becoming Wild

“Caitlin O’Connell regales us with a colorful combination of scientific discovery, personal experience, and storytelling to show how an array of established animal behaviors can de-escalate violence and make life run smoother and safer for the participants. If you’re like me you’ll also love how the nonhuman animal rituals she describes resonate with our own.”
―JONATHAN BALCOMBE, New York Times bestselling author of Super Fly and What a Fish Knows

About this title

About the Author

Caitlin O'Connell, PhD, is a world-renowned elephant scientist, an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School and collaborating professor at Stanford University. She is the author of the internationally acclaimed The Elephant's Secret Sense, among other award-winning books. Her book Elephant Don is the subject of the award-winning Smithsonian documentary, Elephant King. O'Connell is also the cofounder and CEO of the nonprofit organization, Utopia Scientific. She has taught science writing for Stanford University and written for the New York Times.

From the Back Cover

Behavioural ecologist and world-renowned elephant scientist Caitlin O’Connell has spent more than 30 years studying animals in the wild. With fascinating stories and full-colour photography, O’Connell reveals 10 lost rituals from the animal kingdom that teach us how to be more connected to ourselves, nature and others. Through her expeditions in the Caribbean and the African savannah, she immerses us in the cultures of elephants, apes, zebras, rhinos, lions, whales, flamingos and other animals. The result is a captivating look at just how similar we are to these wild creatures and how we can reclaim our innate ability to connect for a more meaningful life.

Edition details

• Publisher: Chronicle Books
• Publication date: 2021
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1452184852
• ISBN 13: 9781452184852
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 264