Books

Coming Feb 9th 2027:

THE THINKING ANIMAL:

What Other Intelligence Reveals About Our Own

THE REMARKABLE STORY OF HOW EVOLUTION BUILT MINDS—AND HOW OURS BECAME EXTRAORDINARY

Why do dogs say hello, but never goodbye?
What makes baby penguins think the first animal they see is their mother?
Why are bonobos impulsive while chimpanzees show restraint?
And what does all this tell us about how humans think?

In The Thinking Animal, Nichola Raihani explores one of science’s most enduring questions: why do minds work the way they do? Drawing on the latest discoveries in psychology, neuroscience, and animal behaviour, Raihani shows how intelligence has evolved across the animal kingdom, and how ours became so distinctive.

From elephants keeping vigil over their dead to ants counting their steps and chickadees remembering where they stored thousands of seeds, Raihani reveals how animals make sense of the world—and why their ways of doing so can seem so strange to us. Along the way, she overturns some of our most enduring myths, showing that even familiar behaviours can be produced by radically different minds.

The Thinking Animal presents a new understanding of intelligence—what we have in common with other species, and what truly sets us apart.

“Consistently fascinating and utterly absorbing. I will never look at other animals’ minds, or my own, in quite the same way” — David Robson, author of The Intelligence Trap

“I am so jealous — I really wish I had written this sparkling book. Very highly recommended.” — Matthew Cobb, author of The Idea of the Brain

You can pre-order THE THINKING ANIMAL here (US & CANADA) or here (UK & COMMONWEALTH).