The book of animal secrets : nature's lessons for a long and happy life /

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The End of Illness comes an ingenious guide to what our fellow animals can teach us about living longer, healthier, happier lives.



Mother nature has a lot to teach us, if only we open our eyes. Pigeons and dolphins offer creative strategies for preserving our memories and warding off dementia, while squirrels and pigs harbor secrets for managing chronic pain. Rhinoceroses demonstrate the subtle power of our environments--and how to exercise better--while chimps have surprising parenting tips, not to mention great diet advice. Studying elephants has unlocked insights into preventing cancer, and we can look to giraffes for solutions to cardiovascular issues. Ants reveal the unusual benefits of collaboration and altruism, dogs are masterful mentors in living the good life, prairie voles hold clues to connection, and hitchhikers from our evolutionary past may bring us to the edge of immortality.



In The Book of Animal Secrets , visionary physician and biomedical researcher David B. Agus, MD, explores all these ways--and more--that we can harness the wonders of the animal kingdom in our own, very human lives. Filled with lively storytelling and astonishing practical takeaways, this revelatory guide will have you rethinking what's possible for your health and wellbeing--now and for years to come.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• Introduction (ix)
• 1 Living in a Zoo Cage (1)
• What Wild Animals Can Teach Us about Living Stronger, Wiser, and Longer
• 2 Oh My Dog! (21)
• More Than Man's Best Friend
• 3 Take the Long Way Home (45)
• The Power of Pattern Recognition and the Perils of Overthinking
• 4 The Giraffe Paradox (73)
• What Long Necks and Gravity Teach Us about Ending Heart Disease
• 5 "Yo, Elephant Man" (99)
• A Cure for Cancer and a Call to Protect Our DNA
• 6 Carnivorous Males and Permissive Moms (123)
• Cues from Our Cousins on Eating Meat, Sharing, and Caring for Children
• 7 Team Effort and Social Immunity (149)
• Be Collaborative and Paramedical, and Take a Sick Day
• 8 Rhinos, Reproduction, and Running (177)
• Little Forces in Your Environment That Can Foment Big Changes in Your Fate
• 9 Smart Suckers and Demented Dolphins (209)
• On Intelligence and Thinking Straight Forever
• 10 The Hitchhikers (233)
• Microbes, Biomes, and Immortal Stem Cells
• 11 Positivity, Personality, and Pain (255)
• When Does a Bad Mood Kill? What Pigs, Squirrels, and Albatrosses Teach Us
• 12 Bonding, Sex, and the Law of Love (283)
• Why We Need One Another-and Mother Nature-Now and Forever
• Epilogue (307)
• Acknowledgments (311)
• Endnotes (321)
• Image Credits (341)
• Index (345)

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Publishers Weekly Review

In this fun volume, Agus (The Lucky Years) suggests humans can lead "longer, healthier, and happier" lives by taking cues from the animal kingdom. Opining on what lessons octopuses can teach about intelligence, pigs about positivity, giraffes about heart health, and more, Agus recounts seeing lions while on safari in Africa and surmising that they "fear death every day in their own way" but largely don't "ponder their own mortality the way we do," leading the author to emphasize the importance of managing chronic stress. Agus outlines the "survival of the friendliest" theory, which posits that in the early days of canine domestication, affable dogs likely received more care from humans and so were the most evolutionarily successful. He suggests readers might benefit in their own way from being "prosocial, cooperative, and friendly." In a standout chapter, Agus discusses research showing that pigeons are better than humans at solving the Monty Hall dilemma (a probability game) because it's easier to arrive at the right answer by trial and error than by logic, illustrating that "sometimes it pays not to overthink things too much." Though the life lessons are largely standard fare, the animal trivia entertains. This will enrich readers' "appreciation for the nonhuman world around us." (Mar.)

Kirkus Book Review

What wild animals can teach humans about health and longevity. In this highly readable book, Agus, a professor of medicine and engineering and author of The End of Illness, shows what we can learn from animals' ability to adapt. Though advances in technology in the past century have extended our life expectancy, the use of technological devices, such as computers and smartphones, has also led us to suffer from preventable "diseases of civilization," including high blood pressure, heart disease, and obesity. These problems stem from our increased stress, lack of exercise, and unhealthy eating habits. Among the many intriguing lessons Agus imparts: why the domestication of dogs has benefited both them and humans; how the navigational skills of birds can help reduce cognitive decli the benefits of studying giraffes to keep our blood pressure in check, and elephants and chimps in the fight to preserve our memory, beat cancer, reduce our risk of developing Alzheimer's and cardiovascular disease, and even be better parents. "Unlike overprotective, helicoptering humans today," writes the author, "the chimp mothers are permissive; they let their offspring play and fall down….Overprotective parents raise less confident kids who grow up with less self-esteem than they would have gained from parenting that gave them a sense of autonomy." Agus also chronicles how bats and ants can teach us how to be better team players; rhinos exemplify how making small changes in our environment can have a large impact; jellyfish and dolphins demonstrate how to prevent neurogenerative decli and examining the personalities of pigs can help us manage chronic pain. Even voles, those burrowing, seemingly timid creatures, can teach us about bonding and friendships. Agus supports his claims with research findings, and, at the end of each chapter, he includes a "Creature Cheat Sheet" about ways we can incorporate the discussed adaptations and techniques into our own lives. Illuminating, practical strategies for living a healthy, productive life. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Author notes provided by Syndetics

David B. Agus is a cancer doctor and biomedical researcher. He is a professor of medicine and engineering at the University of Southern California and heads U.S.C.'s Westside Cancer Center and the Center for Applied Molecular Medicine. He has written several books including The End of Illness and A Short Guide to a Long Life.

(Bowker Author Biography)